It had been a week since Edward had left and in that time Bella had bothered Maya constantly. She was forever asking Maya about the Cullens; what they were like, where Edward had gone and when he would be coming back. She had followed Maya around the house, cornered her in school and even barged into Maya's room on more than one occasion to demand answers as if she was entitled to the secrets of people she didn't even know.
Maya was growing frustrated and after the second day of Bella barging into her room, she had gone out and bought a bolt lock for the inside of her door. She now had the ability to lock her door from the inside and she had already put it to use. Not even an hour after she had installed it, Bella had attempted to barge into her room but had instead slammed face first into her door when it didn't open. Maya had heard it all and as Bella marched away had struggled to hold in her laughter. Normally she would feel bad, but she had hoped that maybe this would teach Bella to be a little more mindful of other's privacy.
Of course, the struggles weren't just at her home. The Cullens were also upset with Bella's questions and Edward's departure. Rosalie was the most upset. She was furious that a human was causing trouble for their family and Maya actually worried about what she might do if Bella did not stop staring at them constantly.
Esme was also extremely upset. Though hers was more worry for Edward, than the situation with Bella. Instead of staying with the family and allowing them to help, Edward had taken off and it had saddened Esme greatly that he did not want their help.
Jasper, while not the most angry at the situation, was the most affected by his family's mood, having to feel each of their emotions as his own. So, in order to gain breaks from it all, he and Maya had been spending more time exploring the woods. Sometimes they would simply stroll along as they chatted and others she would shift and they would race through the trees, allowing their worries to be left behind in the dust.
Edward finally returned Monday morning, three hours before they had to leave for school. Everyone welcomed him back, asking how his trip went and he proudly told them that he now had enough control to be around Bella without having to worry too much. Jasper had rolled his eyes at that and simply resigned himself to some very uncomfortable Biology classes as even if Edward had better control, Jasper would still feel the affects of his bloodlust.
As the Cullens headed off to school it was like any other day, except that the roads were all coated in a thin layer of ice. When Jasper pulled up at her house, Maya had taken great pleasure in getting a running start to slide all the way down the driveway and straight into Jasper's waiting arms. He had swung her around, placing soft kisses on her lips as he set her down.
"You're in a good mood today. What's up Darlin?" He asked once they were both seated in the car.
"Edward's back! Which means that Bella will stop asking me when he will come back!" Maya did a fist pump, practically bouncing in her seat glad that Bella's interrogations would be ending today.
The school day went well, if one did not count the fact that the minute Bella noticed Edward was back her eyes were locked on them all. But Maya and Jasper did their best to ignore her and simply went about their day.
This however, became impossible as they made their way into Biology. Unlike last week, Jasper had been prepared for Edwards surge of bloodlust as Bella sat next to him and was not taken by surprise. Though he still tensed up and pulled Maya closer. Maya tried her best to help him by distracting him as they both ignored Edward and Bella in front of them. When the teacher began talking, Maya thought it might have been the first time since she came to school that she was glad for a lesson to start.
Today they were doing a lab that both Maya and Jasper found easy, but at least it gave him something to focus on and do with his hands. They finished it quickly before anyone else, but they kept their heads down pretending to still be working so that the teacher would not approach them. In the end he declared Bella and Edward the first done as Maya allowed Jasper to draw on her arm. He had long ago discovered that keeping his hands busy helped to distract him, and since he enjoyed drawing, Maya let him to draw on her from time to time. It allowed him to distract himself, while at the same time, keeping her close to him. For the most part he only drew simple patterns on her arm, but every once in a while, he would get creative and draw things like plants, feathers or animals.
As biology came to an end, Maya and Jasper hung back to give Edward time to gain distance as his bloodlust was still affecting Jasper. As they left the room however, Maya noticed Bella's keys laying on the floor and bent down to scoop them up.
"Guess I better return these so she can actually go home" Maya said with a roll of her eyes. Jasper gave a nod and made a sound of agreement as the two set off towards the parking lot to find her.
When they got outside they headed straight for Bella who was standing at her truck staring at Edward. Jasper stopped a few feet away from Bella, leaving Maya to approach alone. Bella's scent was very tempting and he did not want have to get close to her if he could help it.
"Here Bella, you dropped these in class" Maya held up the keys in front of Bella's face.
Bella opened her mouth to say something, when the sound of screeching caught their attention. Both girls whipped around to see Tyler's van skidding towards them, obviously out of control. Before Maya could even take a step to get out of the way, Bella grabbed Maya's arm and yanked her in front of her as a human shield, and held her in place. Normally a human wouldn't be able to move her, but the unexpected action caught her off guard.
She stumbled and by the time Maya righted herself it was too late to move. She closed her eyes and braced for the impact, but instead felt two arms encircle her and pull her towards the ground. Opening her eyes, she looked up to see the Major staring down at her with concern as the van skidded into his back. He however, didn't even flinch. He remained as he was, with Maya tucked securely in his arms, his body between her and the danger.
"Are you alright Doll?" He stroked one of his hands down her face as his eyes scanned her body for injuries.
"I'm fine. Just a little shocked is all," she said, now clutching his shirt in her hands as her body began to tremble a bit. Whether it was from fear, shock or adrenaline, Maya couldn't say. "Thank you Major."
He didn't reply, just nuzzled his nose in her hair and began to inhale her scent, comforting himself with the knowledge that she was safe. By the time the teachers and paramedics had moved the Van, he had managed to calm down with the help of Maya's reassurances enough to allow Jasper to regain control, but it was tenuous at best. Major was still on edge and ready to destroy the first threat to his mate that he saw. But for the moment at least it was Jasper in control.
Which was probably for the best, as the medics insisted that he and Maya go to the hospital as well. Had the Major still been in control when they tried to separate Maya from him, he may very well have killed them all then and there. As it was, he was able to talk them into letting him ride with Maya on the same gurney, claiming that she was in shock. Which Maya was only too happy to play up if it meant staying in his arms.
It was not until they actually reached the hospital and her and Jasper were stretched out on one of the beds, his arms still firmly around her, that she got the chance to examine Bella. She seemed completely fine, which made sense as apparently Edward had decided to break vampire law and risk exposing them to the humans in order to save her. Maya had noticed Edward there, pushing Bella aside and stopping the van with his hand, but it hadn't really sunk in until then what he had risked in doing it.
Her thoughts were interrupted as her dad rushed into the waiting room, calling out for them both.
"Maya! Bella! You girls okay?" Glancing over at Tyler briefly he shot the poor boy a glare, "You and I are gonna talk" he warned before turning back to them. "You two all right?" he asked once again.
"I'm fine, Dad. Calm down" Bella reassured from her spot on the gurney as the nurse took her vitals. Maya just made a sound of agreement and waved from where she was tucked into Jasper's arms, not in any rush to move from there.
"I'm sorry girls. I tried to stop." Tyler said, apologizing for what seemed like the hundredth time to Maya.
She honestly did not blame him in the slightest; the parking lot was murder on foot with all the ice, it was just a wonder more cars hadn't lost control. The same could not be said for Jasper though, he was still shooting glares in the poor boy's direction when he was not totally focused on ensuring that his mate was unharmed and comfortable.
"I know its okay" Bella said once again, Maya having given up on answering after the first few times.
"No. it sure as hell is not okay" their dad interrupted angrily, Jasper nodding along in agreement, glad that at least someone agreed with him.
"Dad it wasn't his fault" Bella defended.
"You and your sister could have been killed you understand that?"
"Yes, but I wasn't, so ..." Bella allowed herself to drift off, completely ignoring the part about her adopted sister also almost dying.
"You can kiss your licence goodbye" their dad threatened.
Maya groaned and made a mental note to have a word with him later, where there were less witnesses, to talk him out of that. Thanks to Jasper and Edward, Tyler was the only one actually hurt and his van was damaged. The boy didn't need to lose his license on top of that.
"I heard the chief's daughter was here" Carlisle announced as he came through the doors. Jasper let out a sigh of relief at his entrance, he had just barely managed to push the Major back and all the strangers touching his mate was putting him on edge and making the Major renew his fight to regain control. He was just glad that the possibility of his mate being hurt was allowing him to push back the hunger that came with being surrounded by so much blood. Otherwise, he would have lost control the minute they stepped foot in the hospital.
"Dr. Cullen" their dad greeted, relieved that he would be checking over his girls. Even if Maya was a lot more durable than most people, he still worried about her. When he found out that there was a doctor in town that knew about her and could treat her, he definitely began to sleep easier at night.
"Charlie" Carlisle greeted back with a friendly nod in his direction as he moved to take the chart from the nurse. "I've got this one, Jackie. So, Isabella ..."
"Bella" Bella was quick to correct.
"Well Bella, looks like you took quite a spill. How do you feel?" Carlisle said, accepting the correction easily.
"Good," she said with a nod.
"Look here" Carlisle held up a pen light and began to check her for signs of a concussion as he talked, "you might experience some post-traumatic stress or disorientation, but your vitals look good. No signs of any head trauma. I think you'll be just fine."
Tyler once again cut in, "I'm so sorry Bella. I'm really ..." Their dad closed the curtain effectively cutting off his apology, making Maya giggled. Which served to draw Carlisle's attention.
He focused on Maya, being careful to not touch her or move too fast as he could see how on edge his son was. He gave her an exam for show, knowing that Jasper would have never allowed her to be hurt in his presence and that even if she had been her healing abilities would have already fixed it. Mainly he was just doing it for the humans present.
"You know it would have been a whole lot worse if Edward hadn't been there. He knocked me out of the way." Bella figured that this was her chance to get some answers out of Edward's father, seeing as he was currently distracted by Maya.
"Edward? Your boy?" their dad questioned. Catching the warning look Maya sent him, he nodded in understanding and dropped the subject.
Bella, who was completely focused on Carlisle, missed it and simply carried on. "Yeah, it was amazing. I mean he got to me so fast. He was nowhere near me."
"Sounds like you were very lucky" Carlisle said dismissively, as if it was no big deal and Edward did it every week. He quickly finished his notes before bidding them goodbye and heading off before Bella could ask anymore questions.
"I take it you're going home with Jasper" her dad observed, noticing how Jasper had not let her go the whole time he had been there.
"Yeah, the others were worried, so I will head over and see them all" Maya confirmed, Jasper nodding along with her. Now that the worry and panic was fading, it was getting harder and harder to ignore the smell of blood and he feared that if he opened his mouth or took a breath, he would lose control.
"Alright, well I will see you two tomorrow then. Just be sure to call me if you start feeling worse, yeah?"
"You got it Dad" Maya agreed, jumping up from the bed to give him a kiss on his cheek.
Jasper quickly gathered their bags and wrapped an arm around her waist to lead her out of the exam room and towards the exit. However, as they rounded the corner, they spotted Rosalie and Edward arguing quietly as Carlisle tried to keep them from drawing attention to themselves.
"How could you do that? You could have exposed us! Fifteen kids saw what happened!" Rosalie hissed.
"What was I supposed to do, then? Let her die?" Edward defended.
"This isn't just about you. Its about all of us" She argued back, furious that he had put their whole family in danger for one human.
"I think we should take this in my office" Carlisle cautioned as Bella came up behind Jasper and Maya.
"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Bella asked, staring at Edward.
"Rosalie, Jasper, Maya, lets go on ahead" Carlisle suggested.
As they rounded the corner, Maya spoke up, "Me and Jas are gonna head out." She had noticed how Jasper had been slowly getting tenser and tenser and wanted to get him out of the hospital as soon as possible.
"You're not going to stay to help with that mess?" Rosalie gestured behind them to where they had left Edward to talk with Bella.
"No, as you said this involves the whole family, so you should wait until the rest are here and can voice their opinions." Maya gave a shrug, truthfully only wanting to get to the Cullens where she could fall down and sleep for a week. Her adrenaline had spiked with the accident, but now that it had faded, she was tried and just the idea of contemplating the mess Edward had landed them in was giving her a headache.
Jasper nodded along with her, not trusting his control enough to talk. The action drew Rosalie's and Carlisle's attention to him, noticing how hard he was struggling to hold onto his control. They both backed off at that and moved aside, allowing the two to continue on towards the parking lot.
When they were a few steps down the hall, Carlisle spoke up "Jasper?" He waited until Jasper turned to face him, "I'm very proud of how well you are doing."
Feeling the sincerity and pride from Carlisle made Jasper blink as tears came to his eyes, pride of his own growing at his father figure's acknowledgement. He only gave him a curt nod to show he had heard him though not being one to openly express his emotions in public before turning to continue on.