Hello, dear readers!

Here comes the winner of the poll - a Jasper/Carlisle story! It was finished two days ago, but I couldn't find a title that would fit :-( Luckily I got help (Thank you so much, Cumor!) and now here it is :-)

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. The characters belong to Stephenie Meyer ... I just like to spin them around until they get dizzy and throw up.


"Please, Jasper, just this once!" Alice begged while she was kneeling on the shag rug in front of the bed he was sitting on. To make it even harder for him to say no, she clasped her hands together beseechingly and made her eyes look big, sad and pleading.

Immediately he hung his head, knowing that he wouldn't be able to resist much longer when she was looking at him like that. With a pained expression on his pale face, he whispered, "Alice-"

Sensing that he wasn't going to give in, she just continued with her pleading. "Just this once!"

"Alice-" Again he tried to say something, but his sweet wife didn't seem to notice or care. She inched forward on her knees, a whiny noise leaving her throat before she carried on.

"You need to try something new!"

"Alice-"

"I promise that you will enjoy yourself!"

"Alice!"

When he raised his voice, she rocked back on her heels and blinked at him in surprise. "Yes?" she asked, a hint of hope in her voice. He lifted his head to look at her and instantly felt his breath catch his throat when their eyes met. These beautiful, golden eyes that looked right back at him - oh, how he could lose himself in them …

Focussing back on the here and now he saw that he was frowning - he hadn't realised that he was, but as he could see himself reflected in her eyes he noticed a deep frown etched on his face.

Yes, he would have to crush the hope that was building up inside of his bubbly wife, disappoint her once more. Soon these beautiful eyes would turn sad - all because of him.

And now she even started smiling. Oh no, love, please don't do that to me ...

Shaking his head, he gently seized her by the elbow and helped her up so she could sit down next to him on the bed.

"Alice, I can't," he said apologetically, his voice soft. "It's too early. Please understand that."

She just looked at him, this time not saying a word. It was hard for her to give up, knowing that nothing would change if she did. He liked to pretend that he was perfectly content with staying home all the time, but she knew that it wasn't true. But maybe pestering him wasn't the right way …

She lay down on her side, her head resting in his lap, and pouted up at him. "It's just a party..."

He groaned internally.

Of course it's just a party … but a party with humans. That could easily turn into a drinking orgy, and I would be the only one enjoying it.

With these thoughts in mind, he let out a long sigh while running his hand through her short, dark hair. "I know, and going to a party with you sounds wonderful, darlin'. But I don't have the necessary control ... please understand that."

"How would you know if you never try it?" She blinked her eyes at him and reached her hand up to play with a lock of his blonde hair. She curled it around her finger and pulled a little, causing him to reach up and take her hand in his before her pulling could become painful.

Placing a soft kiss on her knuckles, he said, "Sweetheart, it's not possible. I can barely walk down the main road without feeling the urge to kill every single person that walks past me."

"But ... maybe that's the problem. You expect to feel the pain in your throat flare up and then it happens, of course. Maybe you just need to be thrown in at the deep end and then you'll see that it isn't that bad."

He looked away for a moment. "We had to move because of me. Several times. I cannot let that happen again, love." Even though everybody assured him that moving was no big deal for them and that he shouldn't dwell on it, he was ashamed. He was ashamed for being the weakest link, for being the one who posed the biggest threat to his lovely wife's life. He couldn't even dare to look her in the eye while he spoke these words, but forced himself to swallow down the shame and guilt, and look back into her lovely face.

"It is just not possible for me to go to a party with you, I'm sorry," he said.

She sat up, placing her delicate hands on either side of his face while gazing deeply into his eyes. They were slightly darker than before, she noticed – talking about his bloodlust was affecting him more than he would ever admit. "I don't want you to be inside all day ... I want you to have fun."

Seizing her hands in his, he started smirking at her. "But we can have fun right here, darling."

A giggle left her mouth. "That's not what I meant," she said, pulling her legs up to hug them to her chest. She wanted to talk about this now, not let him distract her.

"I want you to be able to leave the house without being afraid that you're going to kill someone ... I want you to go to school with us again and go to parties and malls and the movies."

Of course she wanted that, he thought. He wanted it, too, but not if it put his family or humans in danger. "Soon, Alice. I just need a little more time."

Her face scrunched up. "Soon? How soon?"

"A few years, maybe."

Her eyes bulged. "That's not soon," she stated petulantly while shaking her head. "Soon is this Saturday when you go to the party with me," she corrected and crossed her arms over her chest like a stubborn child.

Before he could reply, Esme's gentle voice rang up to them. She called for Alice and after letting out a groan, Alice got up and opened the door to answer. "Yes, Esme?"

"I'm ready, dear, we can leave now!"

Alice's shoulders slumped. She had been looking forward to going shopping with Esme, but now she would much prefer to try getting husband to agree to going to the party with her. She wanted him to loosen up, have fun and see that he didn't need to be stuck inside the house all day. If he would only see what he was missing out on, then it would be much easier for him to ignore his bloodlust. He would be distracted by all the beautiful things he could do - he would be free, not a victim of his vampire instincts anymore. That's what she wanted for him.

"I'll be right there!" she replied, then turned around to look at Jasper. "Would you come with us?"

"No, I think I'll read for a while. You go have fun, Alice."

A groan of frustration left her lips. "You have all eternity to read, Jazz! Come on, first we'll go to the supermarket and buy food we don't like and would never eat!"

When he just looked at her weirdly, she added, "It's fun!"

He slowly shook his head. It was so hard having to crush her hopes again and again, but he did not feel comfortable making the family move so often. While he had been a major in the Confederate Army as a human, and then the second-in-command of a coven fighting in the Southern vampire wars, he did not succeed in getting himself – a single person - under control. The problem was that he had spent the better part of his vampire existence draining humans without wasting a single thought about the many lives he ended and families he destroyed - women became widows, children orphans ... he did not have a conscience that let him stop and think about it. While their emotions had effected him, the consequences of his doing did not.

But now that their lives were so strongly interwoven with the human world, he felt horrible for being such a weak person. Especially now that he was surrounded by vampires who were in complete control of their bloodlust and lived lives as though they were still human. All he did was sit inside and wait for them to come back home. It was sad and boring, but at least it was safe.

He just did not trust himself to keep his thirst under control for hours without slipping up and attacking someone. There was too much at stake ... he didn't want to be the one who endangered his wonderful Alice, or the rest of this loving family; he didn't want to be the one who changed someone's life forever by killing that person's parent or partner or child. Siblings, friends … whoever was unfortunate enough to cross his path when his bloodlust resurfaced.

Living in this family environment made this fear even more prominent, now that he once again experienced what the love of a family was. He could not bear to lose a single one of them ... and that's what kept him in this house while the others went on with their lives like they had never been turned.

"I think I'll stick to my plan and read, but thank you," he said and got up from the bed.

Alice groaned again, then walked over to him, got on her tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. Her eyes were sad when she pulled away and gazed at him through dark lashes. "Being inside all day won't help you gain more self-control."

He didn't say anything, because there was nothing he could say that he hadn't told her before.

Alice walked over to the door and opened it, but before she could step outside and close the door behind her, Jasper said, "Have a good time, darlin'."

"You too," she replied, giving him a small smile.

He just stood there, frozen in place, and listened to his mate's soft footsteps heading down the stairs and into the garage where Esme was waiting for her. A moment later, and the distinct sound of a car being started sounded up to him.

Well, at least she will have fun now ...

Instead of reaching for his book lying on the bedside table, Jasper let himself fall backwards on the big bed, covering his face with both his hands while groaning loudly.

Great ... he was constantly making his wife sad because of his lousy self-control. When it had been only the two of them, they had spent ever single second together. Nothing could separate them ... and now he was at home and she went shopping.

"You didn't get any last night, huh?"

Pulling his hands off his face, he looked in the direction of where the voice was coming from, and instantly felt like groaning again.

Emmett, his dear brother, was peeking into the room with a stupid grin on his face. His hair was combed up into a perfect jelly roll, and the distinct smell of Brylcreem started to fill the room.

"Hey Meat, the door was open," Emmett remarked and walked inside, then came to a halt right in front of Jasper, who started frowning at his brother's audacious behaviour. Entering without knocking or waiting to be invited inside … so Emmett.

"I did not ask you to come in," Jasper stated while sitting up and stretching his neck a little.

"Oh, you don't have to ask, it's no trouble at all," Emmett replied with a wave of his hand.

Maybe he should be glad that Emmett came here to keep him entertained, he realised, because his emotions were giving him a break of his own ones. His brother was a tad bored and excited at the same time - like he wanted to do something but didn't quite know what exactly it was that he wanted to do.

"Emmett-"

"Come, let's do something," Emmett said and pointed with his thumb in the direction of the hallway.

Jasper knew that Emmett still didn't have a plan what he wanted to do, and that's why it was better to stay in here. Emmett was spontaneous – and more often than not that was bad and reeked of trouble.

"Please, Em, not now."

Emmett cocked his head to the side, frowning. "Why?"

"I'm busy."

That answer did not make his brother go away, but scrunch his face up in confusion. "Busy doing what? Groaning? That's not busy ... that's just stupid."

"Actually, I was just about to read," Jasper told him and pointed at the bulky book to his left.

"Yeah ... no, seriously. You can read all you want while we're at school," he told him and shook his head. Then suddenly his eyes widened in excitement. "School, by the way, is so funny ... today Edward was -"

"Emmett, I really just need a little time to myself. Alice is -"

"Ah, I see ... Alice is not putting out, and now you need a little time for ... I understand," he said, then started laughing like a hyena.

Jasper rolled his eyes at his seriously immature brother. "No, you genius, I need time to think," he corrected, making Emmett stop and look at him.

"Think about what?"

Letting out a sigh, Jasper said, "Alice thinks I should leave the house more often." Maybe talking about it would help ...

Clapping his hands together, Emmett exclaimed, "Great, let's go outside!" Then he marched back to the door, joy and excitement radiating off of him.

But Jasper did not move. "No, I don't want to."

And that put a damper on Emmett's spirits. The smile on his face faltered instantly and his shoulders sacked. "Ever since our last move you are no fun, Jazz."

"Does that surprise you?" Jasper asked, almost sounding annoyed while he reached for his book. "We had to move because of me."

"So what?" Emmett asked and let himself fall onto the bed, propping his head up on his palm.

The force from the impact caused the mattress to bounce, and Jasper cleared his throat when he felt it and saw his brother getting comfortable on his and Alice's bed. "I don't want to let that happen again, Emmett," he said.

Emmett, being the sympathetic person that he was, snorted and rolled his eyes. "You drained an old geezer who didn't even have any family left. Geez, that dude was like Ebenezer Scrooge ... who cares? It's no big deal. Life goes on, brother."

Life goes on ... while that was true for them, it wasn't true for the old man he had killed. It didn't matter if he had been a horrible person or a loving grandfather - he was dead now. Dead because of him.

"First of all, Ebenezer Scrooge had a nephew, and second of all: I'm not sure if you are the right person to talk to about that."

"About old people?"

Emmett, just pay attention for a change … "No, about killing."

"What makes you think that? I am the right person, try me!"

Giving him a scrutinizing look, he then let out a sigh. "It isn't as easy as you make it sound it is. I don't want to slip again."

"Duh! Then just don't," Emmett replied and shook his head, like he thought his brother was just being silly. It was that easy, after all.

"What do you know? You're still a child," Jasper grumbled and heard Emmett laugh.

"Come on, let's do something fun," Emmett said, punching his brother's shoulder.

"Why don't you go ask Edward?"

"I did, but when I tried to give him a Melvin, he told me to flake off. He wants to do his homework ... pff, what a candyass."

"Maybe you should do the same?" Jasper suggested. And stop touching other people's underwear?

"Nah, homework is a hang-up. I'd rather do something fun!"

"Rosalie," Jasper suddenly said and nodded at his bulky brother, who seemed determined to spend the rest of his day bothering him. No, he needed to give him other ideas, as quickly as possible.

"She went shopping with Esme and Alice ... said something about new Go-Go boots," he wriggled his eyebrows, then winked. "I'm a lucky man, my wife's a fox."

Oooh ... bummer.

Jasper quickly thought about who else could be in the house and entertain his brother until Rose would come back home. "Carlisle?"

"No way, Jose," Emmett said and shook his head with a panicky look on his face. Then he scooted closer to Jasper and whispered, "I heard Esme telling him that someone would need to mow the lawn. He'll do it himself as long as we aren't stupid enough to go looking for him. We cannot let him see us."

Oh no ...

Even though Jasper didn't have much to do while being at home and he was bored most of the time, he wasn't desperate enough to volunteer doing yard work. He absolutely detested yard work - and apparently he wasn't the only one.

When he heard faint footsteps heading up the stairs, Jasper glanced at the door, then back at his brother. "Ehm, Em ... what if he comes looking for us?"

Emmett's eyes widened when he realised that he hadn't thought about that.

"Window?" Jasper asked quickly and got up from the bed. Leaving the house suddenly sounded like a great idea - they could go on a hunt for a few hours or just wait in the forest until Carlisle would be done with the lawn.

"You bet."


Surprise, we are in the mid-sixties! Hope you are okay with that :-)

We'll have a little more action in the next chapter, this was just the introduction.

What else?

Ah - I'd love to know what you think!