Hello darlings!

I am so damned sorry this chapter is so late… Really, I am. A lot has happened since my last update; I am now back in Sydney, Australia and I've started uni. So that's fun, LOL.

In other news—I will keep this short—this chapter is unbeta'd by anyone but me. I apologize for the length; the next one will be longer!

Also, some news—

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Voting starts TOMORROW, 11 APRIL and ends on MAY 2.

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Thank you so much to whomever nominated me and please vote if you are so inclined to do so :D

This chapter is a thank you… I shall see you soon with the next one if you all tell me you're still interested!

Enjoy…

I knew the moment Jasper felt the elation of my emotions, such a heavy contrast to the last time he saw me. He was standing in the doorway, staring at me, eyes wide with incredulity and a stark joy that brought tears of guilt to my eyes. I don't believe I had truly realized just how much I was hurting my mate and husband in my withdrawal, too.

He was standing in front of me a second after my vision clouded, my heated cheeks cooling from his touch when he cupped them, thumbing away my tears. "Bella…" he breathed, and I whimpered.

"I'm sorry…" The words were a thick whisper as they escaped my mouth, my hands raising to his face as well, thumbs rubbing his cheeks with tenderness. "I love you, Jasper… I'm so sorry…"

He shook his head, saying nothing as he knew there was not a thing he could do to abate the way I was feeling. I was too damned stubborn for that.

"Darlin', tell me what you're thinkin'," he almost pleaded, looking into my eyes before dropping his hands from my face. He took my hands instead, guiding me to the couch and I climbed into his lap, arms and legs wrapped around him, head resting on his chest. He took a breath then wrapped his arms around me as well, pulling me closer as he rubbed my back. His touch, as always, was calming.

I bit my lip. I wasn't entirely sure how to go about it. Was I supposed to just come out and say it? Well… My features screwed up and, at a loss as to what else I could do, I did just that. "I wanna go back home, Jasper. I wanna go back to Texas." There was a beat of silence before I blurted out the rest, not taking a breath in my nervousness. "I wanna leave school… I don't… I don't belong there, Jasper. I don't belong in this town, either. All any of it does is remind me that I'm not where I should be, that this is not the life I want." I leaned back, taking his face into my hands, brown staring into blue. "I am happy with you, I promise you. That's not the issue… I just… Even the thought of moving, the chance of it, made me feel better…"

Jasper was staring at me, saying nothing, and I bit my lip, nerves rising so much that I got up off his lap, beginning to pace. "I… I need the closure of going back there as well. There's so much, Jasper… there's so much that going back home would do for me, for us… Can't you feel it? I don't even know how it's possible… so much has changed… and it's not as if I'm about to bring out my hoop skirt and bonnet, but Jasper, please—"

There was a whooshing sound and the feel of wind—unnaturally indoors with the windows closed—before my husband had me in his arms, halting my words with his lips.

"You still know how'da ramble wi' the best of 'em, don't'cha, baby?" he murmured against my lips and I smiled, poking his chest as my cheeks flushed. It caused him to laugh so I leaned up on my tippy toes to silence him.

"Hush now, Mister Whitlock," I warned him, raising an eyebrow.

The words gave him pause and it took me a moment to realize why.

They were ones I'd always used in our previous life together, at least once a day because he loved them so much he made damn sure of it. The relief was palpable—and I was sure that was because he was letting it out for me to feel, whether he meant to or not—and I grinned as he eyed me a moment longer before agreeing.

"All right then… I guess we're goin' ta Texas…" His fingers massaged my hips, a light furrow of his brow appearing just a second later, a hint of his thoughtful look again.

"What is it? What's worryin' you?" I asked, thankful that he missed the slip on my accent again.

He sighed. "What about everythin' yer missin' out on?" he asked, his voice low.

I shook my head. "I don't see it that way, Jasper. I never have. I've always thought school was pointless—never knew why until I found you again." I shrugged. "Maybe it's selfish of me, Jazz, but I just wanna be with you, not have to go through all this…" I smiled up at him. "We can always go to school later if I change my mind; if that's what you want."

There was a pause before—

"Is this because'a Mike, darlin'?" Jasper asked me, and his eyes were so intense as he analyzed my emotions and my facial expression in the beats of silence that followed.

I sighed, looking down at my hands and taking a deep breath. "In part," I admitted quietly, a small frown on my face as I shook my head. "He's not the only reason, though… there are other factors, other… issues that I feel would be eased were we to leave here."

I could feel my husband's eyes on me as I spoke and even after. Anxiety rose and my breath hitched only to let out a sigh of relief when the feeling was eradicated entirely, replaced with calm and love, comfort. I smiled softly at him, closing my eyes and humming as I let it wash over me, enjoying the way it could affect me so entirely. I knew he felt the same, feeling his happiness that I was finally responding.

The cloud was getting lighter already.

"In regards to the li'l asshole, I agree that we should leave 'fore I do somethin' that'll get me in a lotta trouble…" he muttered, the hint of a growl in his voice.

I frowned, my eyes trained on him then. "Trouble?"

"Yeah, baby," he said and he sighed, taking my hand. He lifted to his mouth, his nose brushing against the back of it before his lips pressed a kiss there and I smiled. He sighed though, feeling my insistence for an answer. "There's been a li'l tension lately at home… not everyone agrees with my… desire to kill the runt for what he did to ya, for even the threat alone that he poses so long as he's alive." He huffed, shaking his head in disgust, his lip curling as his eyes darkened. "'pparently—accordin' ta Carlisle and Esme, at least, I should leave him alone. Alice said she had a vision of me killin' him one day at school but then it disappeared—dunno why since I've not changed my mind. I still wanna kill the little…" he sighed, taking in a deep breath of my scent to calm, doing so visibly, his tone more even when he spoke again. "Edward and Emmett have been very vocal in their support, understandin' where I'm comin' from since Eddie killed Alice's father once he found her—bastard wanted ta put her in an asylum 'cause'a her powers… it set off the call an' he found her 'fore it could happen but his rage…" He chuckled darkly, a smirk curling one of the corners of his lips slightly. Then he shrugged. "Rose agrees, too, but she ain't said so."

I sighed, feeling a stab of guilt among other things.

"Don't think on that now," he urged me, pulling me back down to sit with him. He grinned that grin of his, showing of his damned dimples. "Where are we goin', baby? What are we doin'?"

"I wanna go to Texas—"

"Thank ya, darlin'; I hadn't heard'ja before…" he interrupted me, that smirk more prominent and I slapped his arm, thankfully with enough sense not to hurt myself.

"We could go off by ourselves for a while…" I suggested after a few moments of playful looks. "I don't wanna be changed yet—"

"Not happenin' yet," my husband agreed firmly. "Ya not ready."

I nodded with him. "I think nineteen… the same age as you at least." I hummed, a soft smile on my lips that was quickly becoming a grin. "Texas is hot this time'a year…"

Jasper snorted. "Texas is always hot, baby."

"You shut up!" I joked, laughing and squealing when he tickled me mercilessly. "Jasper Whitlock, you stop that now!" I slapped his chest, wiggling my hand when it throbbed in pain. He grabbed it and kissed it gently.

We sighed.

"We need to talk with your family."

"That we do, baby…"

And yet even as the words left our mouths, we made no move to leave…

~*O*~

Sometime later, we had both accepted it as inevitable that we would have to leave and face the music at some point. Rationality won with the idea of doing so now instead of letting it fester. Feeling my emotions, Jasper let go of me and I stood up, readying myself to leave. I smiled over my shoulder at him as I felt his eyes watching me, the soft look of love and relief in his eyes genuine and everything I needed to see right now.

"Everythin's gonna be okay," he murmured as he wrapped his arms around me when I was done.

I raised an eyebrow, hands on his chest leverage as I pushed back. "That is precisely what you always say when ya don't believe it."

His lips twitched. "Ya know me too well, darlin'."

"I oughta; you're my husband," I murmured as he pulled back, still holding my hand. He guided me out of the room and downstairs, haulin' me into his car.

Our hands were joined the entire ride, and I contented myself with listening to the radio as I settled back into the car seat. So long I had been on autopilot; it felt good to feel the subtle differences as that dark cloudy grew lighter and lighter, beginning to drift away.

Even if it hovered still.

"I called 'em while you were gettin' ready," he informed me as we were pulling into the driveway. "They should be ready in the meetin' room, baby."

I nodded, taking a breath as I felt a small wave of nerves for but seconds before it was stolen from me. I squeezed his hand, smiling as Jasper did the same before letting go and whooshing to my side of the car to open the door for me.

"Ya ready?" he asked me quietly as we walked up to the door.

I snorted. Ready? Not quite, but…. "Let's get this over with."

Jasper nodded.

Our hands swung between our bodies as we walked together up the porch steps, the door opening just as we hit the welcome mat. A nervous Esme and Carlisle were waiting, their understanding eyes briefly meeting Jasper's before they fell to me.

"Bella," Esme greeted warmly, her golden eyes studying me in a motherly way. "I'm glad you're feeling better."

I smiled and nodded, taking the hug she offered as the boys headed into the meeting room. Pulling back when she did, she took my hand and led me after them and I couldn't help but feel like she was trying to show some sort of support she believed I would need.

And when we entered the room, I understood why.

Rosalie was fuming.

Oh, don't get me wrong. She didn't jump up and throw me against the wall, she didn't stand and yell, and she didn't snarl and break things to show off her superior strength. No, the blonde beauty was raging silently instead, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned into her large husband's arms. Her eyes flitted to me as soon as we entered and they became ice as she glared, making me swallow.

Then they were gone from view at a growl from Jasper, her eyes falling to him for a second before she turned in completely toward Emmett.

Moving my gaze from them, I felt myself calm as I saw Edward and Alice sitting side by side, the pixie-haired girl grinning at me as her mate nodded in greeting. There was sadness in both their eyes that I knew was because Alice must've seen our decision but there was a kind compassion that dissuaded any guilt that rose momentarily inside me.

I remembered Jasper's words of the situation that Alice and Edward had met in, remembering the unspeakable actions of her father and the way her mate had felt the call and saved her from such a horrible fate. Yes, Edward understood what it was to be confronted with a threat to your mate… the only difference was he'd conquered it without hesitation.

And in that one respect, I knew Jasper envied him because I sure as hell did, too.

The reason for that small amount of resentment spoke, his golden eyes shifting between every single one of us for a few moments.

"I understand that we've been called here to talk about something that pertains to you, Jasper and Bella," Carlisle began, his fingers interlaced and braced on the table.

I looked to Jasper and he took the cue. "That's right. We've… We wanted ta talk 'bout the possibility'a leavin' Forks."

My lips twitched at my husband's forwardness; always so damned blunt, that one. I cleared my throat and spoke. "It was my idea, Carlisle. I haven't been… feeling well lately. I find it difficult—"

A raised hand halted my explanation.

"I understand, Bella," the Doctor soothed me with a nod and a smile. "Please, don't feel as though you have to explain. I'm afraid we all knew that there was a distinct possibility that we would be leaving this town sooner rather than later." He glanced at Jasper. "We only thought that the move itself would be rather more of a… necessity… when that time came."

My eyes tightened, brow furrowing in confusion. "Necessity?" I repeated in question, looking between him and Jasper. "I'm sorry, how do you mean?"

My husband answered. "He thought we would need ta leave 'cause of a dead li'l' Mike," he said, his tone sarcastic and his eyes a little darker than they had been moments before as he stared at Carlisle's profile. I could see the ever slight tightening of the blond's eyes as my mate continued, his voice growin' a little louder. "Say, a drained corpse in the middle'a the cafeteria… That'd been one'a your theories, ain't it?"

"Actually, that was mine," Edward quipped with a smirk and a shrug. "I figured the imbecile would say something or rather to upset you, Jasper. Or to upset Bella." He nodded toward me, the look on his face softening a little. He glared at his father figure, voice thick with anger and disapproval as he spoke directly to him. "Which would mean Jasper would have been within full right to act, Carlisle."

"Please," the blond tried to reason, his voice low. "Let us change the subject back to the matter at hand."

Any words Edward was about to say in argument were hushed by Alice as she lay her hand on his forearm, rubbing soothingly and murmuring in a voice far too low for me to hear. The tensed form of the vampire beside her grew larger as he breathed in deeply and then his body sagged slightly as he exhaled, nodding as he took her hand in his grip. I looked away as Alice kissed his cheek.

"So why are you thinking of leaving?" Emmett asked.

My lips pursed and I glanced toward Jasper. "Being here isn't… isn't good for me at the moment. If anything, being here is making it harder to come to terms with the life that we lost and the one that we have now. I don't feel as though I belong… I wanna start fresh and I want to leave High School."

There was silence, shock written on the faces of Rosalie, Emmett, Esme, and Carlisle. Obviously, of all the possible reasons, they hadn't been expecting this.

"What about your parents?" Rosalie asked as she leaned forward. "Don't you think they'll have a hard time accepting this?"

I sighed. "I no longer live with my mother and my father has spent most of his life by himself. There is no place for me in his life at all. I find it easy to think that he would accept this as something I need and want even if I can't tell him exactly why. He has a lot more faith in me as an adult capable of makin' my own decisions. He's made that more than obvious."

The blonde fell silent, leaning back into her mate, her jaw locked the only sign of her discontent.

"Where are you thinking of going?" Alice asked with a knowing sparkle in her eyes.

I smiled, about to answer when—

"We could go to New Hampshire?"

"Chicago?"

"Oregon?"

"We haven't truly finished our schooling here this time so a large-scale move shouldn't be needed; perhaps just a town nearby…"

"Actually," Jasper interrupted, taking my hand. "We were thinkin' somethin' further south…"

Rosalie, who hadn't said a word as her husband and the parental figures had discussed the possibilities, voiced her opinion now. "What kind of life is that?" she snarled. "Moving down south is not fair or normal for us, Jasper. Surely you're prissy wife can understand that much. I don't want to live my life as a myth. I want to be able to go out and enjoy the day instead of being sequestered inside, locked away to keep our secret."

"What if we were to go alone?" was my husband's far quieter response. "Each'a you mated pairs 'ad s'me time ta ya'selves when ya first found one another. What if this could be our time?" he asked, looking toward me. "That way, we could go wherever we want and it wouldn't 'ave ta impact you…"

The words had a little bite to 'em and I swallowed, feeling guilty at the discontent rising in the family because of me. I looked toward Carlisle and Esme, seeing the doctor hold his wife's hand as she stayed quiet, obviously upset by the idea. Even Alice and Edward seemed upset that we would go…

Looking at one another, Edward spoke, his voice also rather quiet. "If you leave, we'd like to go with you… If you don't mind."

Esme let out a small, hitching sob, her hand raising to her mouth to try and hold it in. I could feel Rosalie glaring at me from the side as she comforted their mother figure and my eyes closed as emotion clogged my throat. I felt so selfish…

And yet even then, I could not back down.

This was something I needed.

Still…

I opened my mouth only for my husband to stop me, and we shared a look that was meaningful, his eyebrow raised. I pressed my lips together and sighed, giving him a nod as I remembered that he'd both wanted me to be selfish and just finished saying that being off together for a while was what every mated couple did.

"I might have a solution," Carlisle suggested, stroking his mate's hand which he held in both of his. He gave her a smile. "What if we were to do this—Jasper and Bella, of course you may travel together by yourselves for a while. It is only natural for a mated couple to want some time alone and I believe it would be greatly beneficial to your relationship. Take as long as you need… but call in with us every once a while, let us know what you're doing. Then, once you have decided you are finished and would like to rejoin us—whenever that is—you can live with us in Jackson, Kentucky. We have a property there which is in a rural area." He looked to Rosalie, seeing her take a breath and nod.

Jasper and I considered it when a sudden thought that was so obvious I damn near smacked my own forehead for not realizing before.

"It would look strange if we were to run away and you followed immediately after," I said, my tone thoughtful. There was a slight frown on my face, lips pressed in a line as I considered our options. "The wolves wouldn't like it; I'm sure there would be further issue raised there… But if you left, say, five or six months before you leave after us then that's not so bad—"

"I'm sure the wolves would still find it suspicious, especially if you didn't come back to visit in that time—prove that you're still human," Rosalie answered, her tone forced and stubborn.

I smiled thinly. "Then I'm sure we can come back and visit." I turned to the rest of the family. "In the meantime, you would probably need to have a meeting with them to iron out details and clear the air." She shrugged. "Perhaps you stayed thinkin' we'd come back, but then you move to try and find us…"

Thoughtful expressions before small nods and smiles were given in answer to my suggestion and I took a breath, relieved to see everyone was calm—even Esme with the promise that we would visit (if for no other reason than to settle the wolves down were they to get to rowdy).

At least, everyone but Rosalie responded this way.

No, that blonde growled, rising from her chair and letting it scrape the floor before storming out of the room. Her husband rose a second after her, giving us apologetic smiles as he vamped out of the room after her.

"Now that that is settled, I had better get to work. I will see you all later," Carlisle informed them as he rose from his chair as well, kissing his mate before walking out of the room.

"I'll be in the garden," the caramel-haired matriarch said, also rising and leaving the room.

I watched after her, knowing she was still upset and wanting to follow after and apologize, but my attention was quickly taken by Alice as she pulled me in for a hug.

"I'll miss you," she whispered, an emotional look in her eyes as she swallowed. She took a moment before she seemed to recover, bubbly and happy again as we engaged in small talk for a time.

Sometime later, with Alice upstairs resorting her wardrobe and throwing out outfits she no longer wanted to keep, Jasper and I sighed. Turning to leave, we were stopped my Edward, who smiled at me kindly.

"Don't worry about Rosalie—she's only jealous that she's not currently the center of attention; you're upsetting her usual state of being," he snarked, a smirk on his face as he winked. He sighed. "She's petulant and selfish and self-obsessed."

A screech was heard from upstairs and I couldn't help the small chuckle I gave at his words, shaking my head. "You're gonna be in a lot of trouble," I drawled, patting his shoulder. "I almost feel sorry for you…"

He laughed and shrugged. "My wife sees the future," he gave as way of comfort and I supposed it would be a comfort to have that.

I grinned as he left the room, leaving me alone with my husband who gave me a lopsided smirk as he drew me into his embrace.

"Yer happy," he murmured, his voice quiet but calm, almost serene.

I nodded, closing my eyes as I breathed in his scent.

I was happy.

Things were finally looking up.

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