The Weakest Link

[Jasper Hale]

Jasper was still extremely confused about the entire situation. Perhaps it was selfish of him to be so disappointed with the fact that Bella was a stronger newborn than he had given her credit for. His experiences with newborns seemed meaningless . . . useless . . . because what Bella showed was a kind of strength he had never seen before. She had successfully let go of temptation . . . the strongest kind, and it baffled Jasper to witness such a thing -- or hear about since he had not actually been there to see her distract herself from the scent of human blood -- .

What frustrated Jasper even more was that he was still the weakest link in the family. He of course did not blame Bella for that. He was frustrated with himself. He should be entirely grateful that this whole experience was easier for her . . . and he was, in a way. He just wished that something could be done for him to have the same ease of controlling himself. It came easy enough for Bella. How . . . he would never be able to comprehend. He had walked away from it at first . . . unable to withstand the impossibility of what she had done. But now, he had to accept it. He had no choice. She was part of their family, more so than before . . . and that was why he was going to go hunting with her.

Several good things had come out of this. One of which was that Jasper did not have to struggle around Bella as he had to before. He did not have to fight the horribly overwhelming temptation to drink her blood . . . there was no risk of attacking her -- again -- and this enabled them to spend time together. He would be able to form a relationship with her that would have been so impossible otherwise. It was a great relief for Jasper that he no longer had to be afraid of hurting her when she was around. The Cullen household was a sanctuary for him once again.

With these thoughts in mind, he and Bella planned to go hunting together, since as a newborn, she needed to hunt more frequently than others . . . and in Jasper's case . . . he was obviously not a newborn, but needed to hunt more often anyway. As he waited at the door for her to come, he could not help but smile as he recalled the caution he had detected from her when she first turned and she first saw . . . really saw his saw scars. He briefly wondered if she would feel comfortable with just the two of them going hunting. He would find out soon enough.

--- Tag Bella Swan ---

[bellaswan]

***
No Longer A Lamb But Now A Lioness

Bella was very glad she was now able to hang out around Jasper without worrying about him trying to kill her. She had never been mad at him when he’d attacked her on her 18th birthday although she knew he felt guilty about it. It had just been his animal instinct coming out. Although Bella never knew exactly how bad the urge of human blood was. Since the beginning of being a newborn Bella was able to resist the temptation of human blood unlike Jasper, or like any of the other Cullen’s had. This was something she was eternally grateful for.

Jasper was a very nice guy and Bella enjoyed being around him. So when Jasper had asked if she had wanted to go hunting she agreed. She had a bond with most of the Cullen’s now, she and Rosalie where even more than civil with one another. She figured some time with Jasper was long past due. Bella walked down the stairs of the mansion in white and black converses with dark blue denim jeans and a purple tank top. The cold no longer bothering her now that she was a vampire. Had they been going somewhere else she might have chosen something different or grabbed a jacket to pretend the coldness of Forks bothered her. “Hey Jasper.” She said with a smile “Ready to go?” she asked him. She hadn’t been hunting in almost 2 weeks definitely needed to.

[/color]

[Jasper Hale]

Jasper nodded politely to Bella. "Hello," he greeted. "I am ready," he answered, as he opened the door and waited for her to exit first. He wondered what they were going to talk about . . . how this little hunt of theirs was going to turn out. Would it be very awkward and silent? Or would they be able to carry on a comfortable conversation? Jasper was not exactly worried about it . . . more so curious.

"How are you today?" He asked, once again, politely. It was a typical question, but what else was he to start this conversation with. It was a bit of an ice breaker really. He was maintaing a certain formality in the way he spoke to her . . . but he knew that eventually, he would ease up a bit. He was trying to make her feel comfortable as well. He was just enjoying the fact that he could be near her and not fear that he would do something to harm her. For once . . . he could look at her with a painful expression showing how desperate he was to let go of all that withheld him and attack her. No. Those days were forever gone.