His Cat, Her Major ~ Jasper Hale

At the Hospital

The next morning, Maya was curled up on an uncomfortable chair in the hospital waiting room with her head in Carlisle's lap. They had been up the whole night waiting for Bella to wake up. Both Renee and Charlie had arrived earlier, Charlie giving her a hug as he came in before heading off to get an update on Bella. Renee had completely ignored her, too focused on Bella. Which Maya supposed was fair given that Bella was the one that had almost bled out, but she would be lying if she said it didn't hurt at least a little.

Ever since she had moved to live with the Volturi, Renee had not asked to see her once. When she mentioned spending time with her dad, Renee had simply told her to "have fun" and not asked if she would come visit her too. She had also stopped calling about a month after Maya moved to Volterra and anytime Maya had attempted to reach out she had been brushed off or cut short because Renee was busy or had to go somewhere with Bella. As it stood now, Renee and Maya were more like strangers than mother and daughter to each other, and though it still hurt a little to see it in person, Maya was okay with that. She had found two amazing mothers in Athenodora and Sulpicia, the two vampire queens. They had loved and raised her as their own and were there for her whenever she needed them or simply wanted to talk.

"Maya. Maya!" 

Maya slowly sat up in her chair, blinking against the light and groaning at having to wake up. She looked up to see Renee standing over her.

"Would you like to explain to what has happened? Why is Bella so injured?" Renee demanded, glaring down at her.

"She fell out a window. Well, first she fell down some stairs then out a window" Maya grumbled. Looking at the clock behind Renee she sighed as she noticed that she had only been asleep for about an hour.

"Well? Where were you? Why weren't you watching over her? As the big sister it is your job to make sure that nothing happens to her!" Maya looked down in shame. While she never really felt the connection as a sister to Bella, she had tried her best to protect her as she had promised their dad. In the end though she simply hadn't been good enough to beat James.

"Mrs. Dwyer, please. Maya was not even with her at the time. Bella and my son Edward got into a fight and Bella decided to come back to Phoenix. Maya was kind enough to come along to show us the way. She was with us waiting for Bella to arrive when Bella tripped and fell out the window." Carlisle reasoned trying to calm the woman who was upsetting the girl he considered a daughter.

He also really did not want Maya going home upset. Jasper was still adjusting to their diet and spending time in the hospital was not a good idea for him, so he had reluctantly agreed to wait for them at the hotel. On the condition that Carlisle stay with Maya and watch over her. He was still upset about the whole ordeal and this arrangement was the only way he would agree to let Maya out of his sight. Carlisle did not want to fail him. Not only because his son had entrusted his mate to his care but also because after seeing him defeat James, Carlisle held no doubt that if the Major went on a rampage they would not be able to stop him.

Renee just nodded at that, moving to head back towards Bella's room without another word.

"You know its not your fault, don't you Maya? James was a very skilled fighter. You did the best you could and what happened to Bella cannot be blamed on you." Carlisle looked down at the girl who had yet to look up at him.

"I know. Its just Renee has always said that Bella was my responsibility. Since she was always so clumsy it was my job to look out for her. So I kind of just got used to thinking that way, even after all these years of not seeing her. More than that though, I also promised dad and myself before we left that I would protect her. And yet, I didn't stop her from going to meet James and I should have. I should have done more than simply try to talk her out of it."

Carlisle wrapped his arm around her then. "No. Bella is not your responsibility. Yes, she is your adopted sister and yes looking out for and protecting family is important, but it is not your job to prevent her from making her own mistakes. She is 17 now, almost 18. She is old enough to make her own choices and you cannot blame yourself for what she chooses. You can offer her advice, but you cannot control her. Going to see James was her choice and you are not to blame for it."

A small smile appeared on her face then as she leaned into his hold. "You know, you really are good at making people feel better."

He laughed, "thanks I've had a lot of practice over the years."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day Bella regained consciousness and while Maya was happy about that, she was not looking forward to explaining to Bella how she had kept such a big secret from her all these years. She desperately wanted to put it off or better yet, not talk about it at all. But she knew Bella. Just like with the Cullens, she wouldn't stop digging until she was satisfied. So, taking a deep breath, Maya decided to just bite the bullet and get it over with.

She stepped into her sister's room hesitantly, closing the door behind her so they would not be overheard. "Hey. How are you feeling?"

"What are you?" Bella accused.

Maya flinched, seeing the hate in her eyes. "I'm a shifter. A cat shifter to be precise. Apparently, at least one of my parents was a shifter which gave me the ability. So, yeah ... I turn into a cat."

"So what you just figured that you could keep this from me forever? You thought I didn't have a right to know that my so-called sister was a freak?"

"Well not forever ... apparently once I hit the age of 18 in two months I will stop aging so long as I keep shifting. So I would have eventually told you when it became clear that I wasn't getting any older. Or I would have just kept doing what we had done till now where we just never saw each other."

Maya knew how bad that sounded, but she really had not wanted Bella getting involved in the supernatural. She had seen what her family did to those that found out and knew that she was lucky with her dad but could not count on that to hold true for Bella as well. She did not want to be the reason that someone died, even if Bella did irritate with her childishness and inability to read the room. Then once Bella found out about the Cullen's secret, Maya simply had no idea how to tell her that she was anything but normal.

"So, you will live forever as a young and beautiful girl with powers?" Maya gave a small nod, although that was not how she would have phrased it. More like stuck as a teenager for all time as she watched her dad age and eventually die. Although she loved shifting and the freedom it gave her, the thought of spending the rest of time without him made her want to cry.

"Get out" Bella growled. She did not even want to look at Maya. First, she finds out that Maya knew all along about the supernatural and had been hiding it from her. Then she finds out that Maya was a supernatural creature all along and finally that Maya gets what Bella wanted simply by being born. If anyone deserved to be young and beautiful for forever it was be her. Not her stupid adopted stray of a sister that was always off wondering around the woods.

Maya turned with a soft muttered "sorry" and slipped out of the room, almost bumping into her dad as she did.

"Hey Dad. I think I'm just going to head home. Bella's kind of mad at me for lying to her about everything. So, I think it would be best if I leave so she can focus on getting better."

"Alright. I'll call you with updates. And don't be too down, Bella will come around eventually. She just needs time to adjust." Charlie felt bad for his little girl, he was the one who had decided that they shouldn't tell Bella and now she was the one paying for it.

"Yeah, probably. I did tell her back at the start of this that you knew by the way. She's super mad at me right now, so she may reach out to you if she has questions." Maya gave her father a quick hug before heading off to find Carlisle to let him know that she was going to meet Jasper so they could head home.