Rec of the Week

This week's recommendation is Destiny Awaits by Midnight Seductress.

Summary from ff.net: After Twilight. When Alice leaves to find her future, Bella makes a her a promise that will change everything.

This story picks up on Bella's 18th birthday, but takes a decidedly different path than New Moon. Alice leaves to seek out a figure from her visions, leaving Jasper heartbroken and Bella with the promise to look after him. Jasper clings fiercely to Bella at first, and from there, their friendship grows by leaps and bounds.

The characterizations here are fabulous. Bella is very well done, selfless as usual and wanting to do anything she can to help Edward's family. She also grows up a bit throughout the course of the story, realizing that things with Edward may not be as perfect as they once seemed when he becomes jealous and controlling as Bella spends more time with his family without him. Jasper also has some superb moments of control of his emotions and blood lust.

With a twist on the situation of Edward's leaving Bella, the plot of this story moves forward at a good pace, showing Bella's growing relationships with all of the Cullens. It's very much a Bella and Jasper story as much as a Bella/Jasper, as both of the characters progress through the story learning about themselves and each other.

Though this begins with canon couples, it ends up BellaxJasper after some creative shenanagins to get them to admit their feelings for each other.