Opening Doors {Bella}

[Jasper Whitlock Hale]

Moving through the house at a speed that would have been considered slow for a human, Jasper didn't have a particular destination in mind. The past few months had seen his world change in every possible way. Nothing was now as it once had been. He and Alice had parted company. Jasper knew how much he had hurt her and in truth it hurt him as well. Alice had been his life for over fifty years. She had given him so much during that time, had helped form him into the man he now was. There was a piece of Jasper's heart that would always belong to Alice, tiny that piece might be. However someone else had captured the majority of his affections.

Had it not been for Edward and Alice, Jasper never would have met Bella Swan. Sure he would have seen her around school, would have known who she was, but he never would gotten to know her. She would have just been another human schoolmate he never got too close to. Jasper could never regret getting to know her though, not now. As Edward had fallen for the reserved, uncoordinated girl from Arizona she spent more and more time around the Cullen family. Being that close to a human was always a challenge but with Bella it became one that Jasper was willing to struggle through. It became more and more difficult to try to stay away from her. Then came the meeting with James in the baseball field. The tracker set his sights on Bella and in effort to keep her safe, Jasper and Alice drove her back to Phoenix. It was during that time that he finally began to see his feelings for her.

So much had happened since then. Jasper had lost control and tried to kill her. He'd left to keep her safe prompting the rest of the family to follow. Eventually it became too much to be away from her. What Jasper found when he returned to Forks still haunts him. Bella had become nothing more than a shell of the woman he had come to love and it had been his fault. Of course it hadn't been his absence that caused her spiral into oblivion, it had been Edward's. That knowledge was also a source of great pain. Still Jasper had taken it upon himself to see that Bella was safe and protected. That time together brought them closer. And then the unthinkable happened. Victoria set to have her revenge and she nearly succeeded. One of her army had gotten to Bella, bitten her before Jacob could take him down. Though Jake disposed of the newborn, there was no one there to stop the spread of the venom, to stop Bella's transformation into a vampire.

Jasper's mind continued to wander as he walked until he found himself outside a familiar door. Stepping close to the wooden barrier, he closed his eyes and lifted one hand to rest against the hardwood. He knew Bella was inside, could sense her presence through the door. After a brief pause of consideration Jasper decided against knocking. He didn't want to disturb her if she might be busy with something. Instead he soundlessly pulled back his hand, spun on his heel and continued down the hallway to the library. Jasper pulled a random book off a shelf as he passed and made his way to one of the leather chairs across the room. He sat down, opened the pages and focused on the print, at least in appearance. Mentally he was back down the hall, standing in front of Bella's room with his hand on the door that separated them.

[Bella Swan]

Bella sat in her room that she now occupied in the Cullen house; she was sitting quietly on the window seat, looking down over the forest. It had been a hard first few months since her change. She had managed to meet with Charlie but only because she loved him and didn't want to hurt him. But just the other day she had caught the scent of some humans and she might have attacked them had Alice not caught her and made her realize what she was doing.

That was something that Bella feared the most; attacking and killing a human, disappointing her family and causing them to uproot. She now understood Jasper so much better and how much he had to go through. The thought of Jasper made her sigh and glance at her door, briefly wishing he would come and talk to her. Tell her everything would turn out alright and ultimately make her feel better.

The tension around the Cullen house could be felt by everyone; and Bella was sure it was taking the biggest toll on Jasper. With Alice and Jasper not together anymore, Bella could only imagine how it had upset the usual things for the Cullens, and she couldn't help but blame it on herself. But then again, ever since spending more time with Jasper, Bella couldn't see herself without him now. But it was still an awkward situation at times; one that could be felt by both for the simple reason that Jasper made the feeling double between them.

Bella's sensitive hearing caught the sound of someone standing outside her door, making her whip her head to watch the door carefully. When nothing more came from the other side, Bella swiftly moved toward it and opened the door to peek out into the hall. She caught a glimpse of Jasper walking down the other end of the hall into the library. Thinking quickly, Bella moved out into the hall and closed her door before heading toward the library. She poked her head inside and spotted Jasper sitting in one of the chairs. "Am I interrupting anything important?" Bella smiled timidly as she toyed with her fingers, still standing in the doorway; mentally cursing herself for being nervous.

She took in his appearance as she waited for him to answer; his honey hair and brooding expression. Bella wondered what he was thinking; he had looked lost in thought when she had entered the room. She sometimes wished in moments like these that she had Edward's power. Okay, so she wished she had a lot of different powers, her's seemed almost lame to her, especially since she didn't know how to use it properly. But this wasn't the time to moan about her abilities; Bella shook herself from her thoughts when she saw Jasper begin to speak.

[Jasper Whitlock Hale]

Jasper had been so caught up in thinking about Bella that he didn't even hear the approaching footsteps. He did however catch the familiar sweet scent of the young woman of his thoughts. Jasper's gaze lifted from the book just as Bella spoke, asking if she was interrupting. Taking a few seconds to stall he glanced down again. It was no surprise to see that he hadn't turned a single page. Closing the cover, Jasper returned his gaze to look at Bella. She was so endearing standing there with her shy smile. As he looked her over slowly he felt the nervous flutter of her emotions. A faint smile touched Jasper's lips as he dropped his gaze and dipped his head. "I would have thought I was past the point of making you nervous," he murmured very softly, though there was no question that Bella would hear him.

The thing was that they were dealing with an entirely new set of nerves. Before Bella had to worry about him losing control and attacking her, as he had the night of her eighteenth birthday party. Memories of that night still haunted Jasper, as do the subsequent events that sent Bella into a devastating depression. They were past all of that now. Bella was a vampire so the threat of him killing her was no longer a concern. What was left to deal with was the feelings they had developed for each other.

The truth of the matter was that Jasper was a bit nervous, as well. He didn't question what he felt for Bella but it had been a very long time since he'd been on the brink of a new relationship. His head still dipped he looked up from beneath the fringe of his hair to gaze at Bella again. She had been attractive enough as a human, more so than she ever realized. Now though, with her transformation, she was… stunning. Her pale skin was like fine porcelain, smooth and flawless. Her long, dark hair left his fingers inching with the desire to sink into the silky depths. Shaking off the direction of his thoughts, Jasper lifted his head and ran a hand through his own hair.

"To answer your question, you are not interrupting anything important. In fact you aren't interrupting anything, period," Jasper assured her as he slipped the book between the arm of the chair and his thigh. "Do you want to come in? I um… I was going to knock on your door but I thought you might be doing something important." The fact that Bella followed him so quickly to the library left little question that she must have heard him at her door. Even if that wasn't the case, Jasper felt the need to start laying things on the table. He looked away briefly before meeting Bella's gaze again. "How are you?"

[Bella Swan]

If Bella's heart were still beating, and blood still coursed through her veins, she was certain she would have been blushing as Jasper mentioned her being nervous. All she could do was duck her head down and avert her gaze from his face. He had said it very quietly but she had no trouble hearing it as if he had spoken in a normal human way. Bella cautiously peeked at him through her lashes and found him in almost the same position. That made her smile and she felt that familiar wave of love for him wash through her. He was very different then his brother, and her ex-boyfriend.

As Bella watched him push a hand through his already tousled hair, she realized she had been holding her breath; she quickly let it out and licked her lips. Stray beams of sunlight filtered through the window and landed on Jasper's skin, giving him a beautiful glow and also making his battle scars stand out. Bella tilted her head as she looked at them, feeling the urge to run her fingers over them. Jasper's voice, however startled her from her train of thought.

At his question, she merely nodded and walked into the room; eye-ing his lap some, before deciding to just sit in the opposite chair. She laughed lightly, still startled at the musical sound of her own laugh. "Oh I wasn't doing anything important.. just thinking, really." She looked at him through her lashes, wondering what he wanted to talk to her about. "I'm alright; a little frustrated.." she lifted her head and flashed a small smile, "this power of mine is frustrating, and just.. I wish I didn't want to go after humans." She felt embarrassed again; of course she knew that wanting to attack humans was part of being a newborn, but still didn't like her family knowing she was weak.

Wanting to change the subject from herself, Bella reached forward and pulled the book from beside Jasper, "What are you reading?" She ran a hand over the cover, reading the title before giggling. "Carlisle's medical books? Planning on helping him out in the future, Jasper?" Still smiling, she opened the book and began flipping through the pages. "Was there something you needed to talk to me about?"

[Jasper Whitlock Hale]

As soon as Jasper spoke about her being nervous he regretting making the comment. Though he couldn't see her face from his position, he could feel her embarrassment. Before he could do anything to easy the emotion however it was replaced by another. When Jasper lifted his gaze, he saw the smile Bella wore and felt the love she was currently experiencing. A soft smile curved his lips in response. It seemed he was doing a lot more of that lately, smiling. Sure it had been known to happen from time to time, he wasn't exactly the same dour person at home that he was around humans. Still Jasper knew that the incidence of him smiling had been increasing daily the more time he spent with Bella.

When she started across the room, he couldn't help but watch her. She moved with such grace now, as all vampires did, and it suited her so much better than the stilted movements she tended to make as a human. It didn't escape Jasper's attention when Bella seemed to contemplate her first choice of seats and he shifted almost imperceptivity in his chair. He hoped that it would seem he was simply adjusting his position to see her more clearly when she settled in the chair beside him. The sound of Bella's laugh caused Jasper's smile to grow, it was such a beautiful sound, not quite as high and piercing as Alice's laugh but just as silvery.

Instantly he felt a flicker of guilt for comparing the two. It wasn't some sort of contest. It was merely a matter of love. He felt a sense of relief when Bella spoke, drawing his attention back to her and away from the direction his thoughts had been headed. "Thinking can be good," he responded, a lightly teasing edge accentuating his Southern accent. The teasing quickly sobered when Bella went on to say that she was frustrated. Jasper turned more fully into his seat, his soft smile turning sympathetic. "All powers are frustrating to begin with, Bella. You will have to learn to develop it over time. Lucky for you there are those here who understand your frustration. We'll be here to help you through it all. As for the rest," he continued, dipping his head briefly before fully meeting Bella's gaze, "you know I know how you feel and you know that I understand not wanting to hurt the humans. What you maybe don't understand, Bella, is how… incredible you've been." Jasper shifted his chair around then, perpendicular to hers, and reached out to take her hand. "I have never seen a newborn with the sort of control you have exhibited, and I've seen a lot of newborns. I don't understand it but I can't deny it's true. Bella, trust me, you have nothing to be embarrassed about when it comes to your control."

Almost before he finished speaking Bella was ready to change the subject. Having said his peace, and hoping that she felt the sincerity of his words, Jasper made a grab for the book as she pulled it out of his chair but he was too late. Dipping his head he closed his eyes and nearly drown in his own embarrassment. The sound of Bella's amusement both settled the emotion and increased it. Jasper shook his head, a myriad of responses playing through his head but he opted not to respond at all. Instead he focused on her final question. "Um… nothing urgent. I just… wanted to see you, wanted to see how you were holding up. If there was anything you needed." Everything Jasper said was true, though it wasn't the whole truth. There was a larger purpose for seeking her out but he wasn't sure yet how to broach the subject.

[Bella Swan]

As Jasper talked about powers, and then the hunting issue and humans; Bella just nodded. Yes she knew very well that he understood the most out of all of them. But as he talked about her restraint, she felt that it wasn't really that special. Though - Jasper did have experience, like he said. She sighed inwardly, exasperated. Bella didn't know what to think anymore. Everything was as she expected newborn life to be, but yet it was different and hard for her to explain.

She almost jumped out of her skin as he took her hand. But she felt the sense of calm it gave her, not because of his power but of the fact that he cared. Bella managed a warm smile as she looked at him. It was hard to stay focused for long when she was around him, and of course being a vampire, they truly were easily distracted. Jasper's flustered attitude after she had taken and commented on his reading choice, made her focus once more on what he was saying.

Bella's whole being tingled with excitement when she heard his words. He cared so dearly; "oh.. erm, no there's nothing I needed.. at the moment anyways. And I'm doing alright. Other then what I mentioned earlier. But you already helped with that." She watched him for a moment longer in silence, "was that all?" Bella felt a faint sense of disappointment at it not being something more, but she quickly tried crushing the feeling; very aware of the fact that she had an empath sitting not three feet away from her.

[Jasper Whitlock Hale]

It was easy to tell just how frustrated Bella was, and not just because he could sense her emotions. Her entire manner spoke of exasperation. And there was no question that she lacked faith in herself, that was a holdout from her human days. Not that those days had long passed. Jasper wished that there was something more he could do to make her understand, unfortunately it was one of those things that was going to require time and a good deal of positive reinforcement. He was prepared to do everything he could to provide the love and support that she needed. "I'm gonna be here to help you through all of this, Bella. I promise you that you will not be alone."

Jasper meant those words in more than just the current context of being there to help her through the trails of being a newborn. He was trying to express a sentiment that they had sort of been skirting around for sometime, certainly since Bella's transformation and more likely even beyond that. That had been part of the reason that Jasper had wanted to see her, and also part of why he had been too nervous to knock. It was her reaction to him taking her hands that finally convinced him the topic needed to be broached. They couldn't continue on the way they were. They needed to be settled so that the rest of the family could start to heal.

He tilted his head, studying Bella carefully, her body language and expression as well as her emotions. For a moment Jasper could feel her anticipation as he spoke and just as easily he sensed the turn toward disappointment. It was also not lost on him that she was clearly trying to shield her feelings. A brief silence followed her question before Jasper licked his lips and shook his head. "No, Bella, that's not all." He paused, his gaze dropping to focus on her hand still held in his. "There's something important that we need to discuss. I haven't wanted to push because so much has changed for you in the last couple of months. I've been wondering, being that you're one of us now, just what you might want to do. About us…"

[Bella Swan]

In the process of writing her post