A/N: I'm so sorry that this chapter has taken so long to post. It's been written for a while, but real life has sort of kicked into overdrive lately, and I find that I just don't have the time that I need to devote to my writing lately. I will finish this story, I know there's been a lot of annoying waiting around for me, and I appreciate everyone that's stuck it out with me. :) You guys are awesome.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 12: You and Me

"Oh, and when the kids are old enough

We're gonna teach them to fly

You and me together, we could do anything, Baby

You and me together, yes yes."

Bella swiped angrily at the hot tears that continued to spill down her cheeks as she sped down the highway. She'd been crying since the moment she left the visitation room at the prison and was showing no signs of stopping. She rolled her window down, letting the chilly air whip through her hair and dry her tear-stained face. The cold air was calming and she took in huge gulps of it as she glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but the evening air seemed to be helping. Jasper couldn't know she'd been crying. She pinched her cheeks and took one last breath as she pulled into the hotel parking lot.

Jasper was sitting on the couch when she walked in the door. He sat up and eyed her critically as she walked in. "How did it go?" he asked.

Bella silently cursed her new seemingly uncontrollable hormones as she felt herself choking up. She was unable to speak as the tears began to flow again. Instead she shook her head.

Jasper's jaw clenched. "What did he say?" he asked quietly. "Come sit down."

Bella sunk down on the couch and took a deep breath. "He wants me to…take care of it," she whispered.

Jasper was silent for a moment. "You told him no?" It was a question.

"Yes, Jasper. I already told you. I'm keeping this baby."

Jasper nodded quickly. "Okay, I know. I just wanted to make sure I understood you. So what did he say when you told him you were keeping it?"

Bella shook her head, fresh tears falling into her lap. "He was mad. He said I don't know what I'm doing, and we're not cut out to be parents." She choked out the last words and dropped her head into her hands as sobs wracked her body.

"Oh, Bella," Jasper said. "I'm so sorry."

Bella was surprised by his words. When she'd first told Jasper about the pregnancy, his reaction had been harsh-as harsh as Edward's. She hazarded a glance at his face and was surprised to see his expression was sympathetic. She sniffed and drew her knees up under her chin. "What am I going to do?" she whispered.

Jasper shrugged. "You're going to do just what you told Edward you'd do. You're going to get a job and make a life for you and your baby."

Bella nodded. "Yeah, it just seemed so much simpler when I said it to him. He's right though. I have no skills, no prospects." She paused and glanced at Jasper. "Well, no skills that I can use to help me get a legitimate job, anyway."

Jasper laughed. "You're going to be fine, Bella. You're a fighter. If this is what you want, then it'll all work out."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "I hope you're right." She looked at Jasper and shrugged. "Either way, I guess it's good news for you."

"How so?" he asked, tilting his head to one side.

"Well, you'll get your wish. You won't have to worry about sticking around here with me. You can go off on your own like you wanted to in the first place," Bella explained. There was no malice in her tone. She didn't blame Jasper for wanting to be on his own, especially now.

Jasper furrowed his brow and studied her for a moment but said nothing.

After a moment, Bella stood. "Well, I'm going to go throw up and take a shower." She gave Jasper a rueful smile as she walked to the bedroom. As she glanced back, she noticed Jasper wore an unusually pensive expression. "You okay?" she asked.

Her voice seemed to pull him from some faraway place. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," he answered. She nodded and disappeared into the bedroom.

The hot water of the shower was cathartic. When she emerged from the steam-filled bedroom a while later, things somehow didn't seem so dire. She'd raise this baby on her own. After all, what had she expected Edward to do from prison anyway?

Jasper was still sitting in the same position on the couch she'd left him in. He looked up at her as she plopped down in the armchair across from him. She gave him a small smile as she rubbed her hair with the towel.

"Feel better?" he asked.

She nodded. "A little." She shrugged. "Things will work out. I'm not sure how, but they will."

Jasper sighed and sat forward on the couch, clasping his hands in front of him as he stared at her, his expression suddenly intense. "Bella, I want to talk to you about something."

Bella felt a twist of fear in the pit of her stomach. She wasn't sure she could handle much more bad news or stress. "Okay," she said, eyeing him hesitantly.

"Edward is wrong, you know," Jasper said. "You can do this."

Bella smiled, once again touched by the uncharacteristic sentiment. "Thanks, Jasper. It means a lot to me that you think that. Like I said, I'll be okay."

Jasper nodded. "I know you will." He looked up at her, his eyes burning. She found herself unable to look away from him, but she wasn't sure how to respond. Instead she remained silent. After a while Jasper stood and wandered into the kitchen. She could hear him banging around, and a short time later he emerged carrying a steaming mug.

"Here, try this," he said, balancing the cup in one hand as he sat down next to her.

She looked at him suspiciously. "What is it?"

"Ginger tea. It should help with the nausea," he said. Noticing her dubious expression, he rolled his eyes and added, "I swear it's not poison or anything. My mom used to make it for us when we were sick."

Bella stared at him for a moment longer. Neither he nor Edward had ever mentioned their mother, or anyone from their family before. From the way he dropped his eyes to the floor and muttered something unintelligible, she could tell that doing so was painful for him.

"Thank you," she said quietly, surprised and touched by his thoughtfulness. She sipped the tea thoughtfully, both of them silent for a while. The tea was delicious and really did seem to help with the near constant nausea.

"Well, I'm going to go out for a while," Jasper finally said, the characteristic gruffness returning to his voice.

Bella nodded and he left. She wasn't sure what time he returned. She stretched out on the sofa after he left, watching as the sun disappeared behind the horizon and darkness fell. She fell asleep after that, and when she stirred again, daylight was peeking through the cracks in the heavy hotel curtains. She shook her head groggily as she stood up slowly. She never seemed to be able to get enough sleep lately.

She moved around the suite quietly, unsure of whether or not Jasper was still out. When she didn't find him in any of the rooms, she assumed he was still gone. However, she was surprised when she noticed the classified section of the newspaper sitting on the kitchen table. He'd obviously come back at some point. Was this for her? Did he bring it back for her to use to find a place to live and a job? She wasn't sure what to make of that.

After showering and finding the leftover ginger tea Jasper had brewed the night before, Bella began to peruse the classified ads. She tentatively circled several job prospects and several promising houses and apartments in the area, still unsure whether the paper was meant for her.

She jumped when she heard the door slam. Jasper's expression was dark as he pulled his boots off. "Hi," she said hesitantly. He glowered and muttered something. "What's wrong?" she ventured, fear pulling at the pit of her stomach. Somehow she'd been hoping that the new softer side of Jasper that she'd seen the night before would still be around. It didn't appear to be the case, though.

"Edward's screwed up," he muttered angrily.

"What do you mean?" she asked, alarm evident in her voice.

"He punched a guard, Bella. He's in solitary and can't have visitors. There's going to be new charges brought up against him, I'm sure." As he spoke, he picked up the phone and dialed. Bella listened as he spoke to Marcus, Edward's attorney. She waited until he had finished his phone call to question him further.

"What did Marcus say?" she asked.

Jasper sighed. "He didn't know about any of this. He's going to go and see Edward now. He said he'd call after he knows more about what's going on."

Bella sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, pulling at the roots in frustration. "How could he do this? He did so well all throughout the trial and everything." She shook her head and sighed.

"I don't know, Bella. It happened sometime yesterday afternoon," Jasper said. He waited for her to make the connection.

When she did, she gasped quietly. "Right after I left," she murmured.

"Yeah," Jasper said quietly. "I guess he was more upset than we realized."

Bella shook her head. "I knew he was upset; I just didn't think he'd be so stupid."

Jasper shook his head. "Me either."

"So, what did you find?" Jasper asked, clearly attempting to change the subject as he motioned towards the paper she still clutched in her hand.

"Oh, I wasn't sure whether this was for me. Thank you, by the way," she said, smiling slightly at him. He nodded in response and motioned for her to answer his question. "Well, there are a couple of jobs I'm going to apply for, and there are some apartments I thought I might go look at."

Jasper nodded approvingly. "That's good. Listen, I'm going to get some sleep. Do you need anything? How's the tea?" he asked, motioning towards her nearly empty cup. "Do you need more?"

"Oh, it's good, but no. I don't need any more. Thank you," Bella answered.

"Bella?" Jasper said as he paused at the bedroom doorway.

She hummed her response, eyes still on the newspaper.

"Try not to worry about Edward. He's a big boy and can take care of himself. You need to worry about yourself and the baby now."

Bella said nothing, a lump suddenly blocking her throat. Instead she nodded. He smiled and closed the door behind him. Bella knew he was right. As concerned as she was for Edward, she didn't have the energy to worry any more about him.

She did the best she could to push Edward and his worries to the back of her mind. She spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone setting up job interviews and making appointments to look at houses and apartments the next day.

Jasper was still sleeping when there was a knock on the door. Bella cleared the newspapers off her lap and rose to answer it. Marcus was standing in the doorway.

"Hi, Marcus." Bella nodded, opening the door and gesturing for the lawyer to enter.

Marcus nodded and entered the room. Bella hurriedly attempted to straighten up some of the clutter from the front room, clearing the scattered newspapers away.

"So, did you see Edward?" Bella asked.

Marcus sighed. "I did. He asked me to come by," he said, eyeing Bella.

Bella read his expression, and her face darkened. She could only imagine what message Edward had for her. She lifted her chin defiantly in anticipation of what he had to say.

Marcus sighed again. "Look, I don't want to get involved, but Edward asked me to come by and check on you, Bella."

Bella said nothing but waited for him to continue.

Seeing her expression, Marcus held his hands out and shook his head. "Edward told me about your situation, but I'm not here to get involved in that. I'm just here to check on you and offer my help in any way I can."

Hearing his words, Bella relaxed a little. She nodded. "Thanks, Marcus. I appreciate that. I'm sure Edward told you that we're having a little bit of a difference of opinions on where we should go from here."

Marcus nodded. "He did. But again, that's none of my business. Is there anything I can do?"

Bella opened her mouth to answer, but Jasper cut in, emerging from the bedroom as he pulled a t-shirt over his head. "We're okay."

"Hello, Jasper," Marcus said.

Jasper nodded in greeting, then continued. "You can tell Edward that Bella is going to be fine."

Marcus and Bella both looked at Jasper. With all eyes on him, he continued. "I'm going to take care of Bella and the baby while Edward's on the inside. You can tell him he won't have to worry."

Marcus studied Jasper for a moment, then nodded. For her part, Bella wasn't able to wrap her head around his words.

"Okay, well I'll pass the message on to Edward. Is there anything I can do for you two then?" Marcus asked.

Jasper shook his head stubbornly. "Nope. We're going to be fine." He looked at Bella and gave her a small, reassuring smile. Bella wasn't sure what expression her face was registering, and she seemed unable to process all the thoughts that were racing through her head.

Jasper turned back to Marcus and changed the subject. "So, what's going to happen to Edward now?"

Marcus sighed and shook his head. "Well, you won't be able to visit him for a while. I won't be sure how long until they have his disciplinary hearing. Then there will be the new charges for assaulting the guard." He paused. "It's not going to be good news."

"Well, I'm sure you'll keep us posted. We'll be staying close by," said Jasper.

Marcus nodded. There was silence for a moment, and then Marcus stood. "Well, please let me know if there's anything I can do for you two. I know Edward will want me to put myself at your disposal."

Jasper thanked him and walked him to the door, where the two exchanged a few more words before Marcus departed. Jasper closed the door behind him and turned to look at Bella.

"Why did you tell him that?" Bella asked.

Jasper shrugged, "I thought he should know. Edward, I mean."

"But now he's going to think something that isn't true." Bella's voice was hard. Anger was beginning to replace the shock she'd felt moments ago. She wasn't happy with Edward, but she didn't want to purposely mislead him.

"Who says it's not true?" Jasper asked, smirking at her as he sat down next to her on the couch.

Her anger faded away and was once again replaced by shock and confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked, unable to manage anything more.

"I want to be there for you and the baby, Bella," Jasper said, his expression and voice soft.

It took a moment for the words to make sense in her head. "What?" she asked lamely.

"I want to help you with the baby. Edward won't, but I will." There was such sincerity in his voice that she couldn't doubt him. Still she was speechless.

After a moment she cleared her throat. "Jasper, you don't have to do that. I know Edward's your brother, but I'll be fine. Our mistakes aren't your responsibility."

Before she had finished, Jasper was shaking his head. "No, it's not like that. You're carrying my nephew or niece. I can't just walk away from that." He paused for a moment, leaning back on the couch and scrubbing his hand over his face. "Look, I don't know how much Edward has told you about our past, but our family is pretty messed up. We don't have a lot of contact with our parents anymore. Edward is basically the only family I have anymore. Until you came along, Bella." He motioned towards her still flat belly. "You and that baby, you're family now," he finished in a whisper, and Bella was once again speechless. She looked at him quizzically, and he chuckled. "Listen, I'm not going to pretend that any of this is what I envisioned for myself. I miss Edward like crazy, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish things were back to the way they were before, but this is the way things are now, and I'd be a real ass if I turned my back on you and Edward's baby now."

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay, Jasper. If you're sure this is what you want." Jasper was a man of few words, but she knew him well enough by now to know that the words he did say were chosen carefully, and his decisions were never made rashly.

Satisfied, Jasper nodded. "Good. Now I'll make you some more tea, but you really should try to eat something more substantial. Do you want me to go out and get something?"

Bella absently agreed, her head full, and it wasn't long before Jasper had slipped through the front door, and she was once again alone with her thoughts. What did this mean? Was Jasper really sincere? She had felt like he was earlier, but now that she was alone again, she couldn't help wondering. She knew at least part of her doubt came from her own misgivings. Aside from Edward, Bella had never trusted anyone or let anyone get close to her. The thought of letting Jasper help her scared her more than a little.

She couldn't help wondering, was this new side of Jasper real? Even if it was real, would it last? There were so many questions, so much she didn't know. She hated feeling so vulnerable, and she knew that the hormones surging through her body weren't helping either.

Jasper returned with large, greasy bags of Chinese food. The smell made Bella's stomach roll, but she pushed down the bile in her stomach and smiled gratefully as Jasper plopped the food down in front of her on the table, a self-satisfied expression on his face.

"Thanks, Jasper," she said. She didn't have the heart to tell him that there was no way she was going to put that hot, greasy food anywhere near her mouth. Luckily, Jasper didn't seem to notice as he ate voraciously. Bella smiled to herself as she watched him. Regardless of what their future held, it seemed some things wouldn't change.

A/N: So, are you guys surprised about Jasper's change of heart? Do you think it's real? I'd love to know what you think. Leave me a review. :) Thanks so much for reading!