Set in Stone, a twilight fanfic

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A/N: The date and Nessie's age are correct for my Alternate History; see my profile for more information. Barbie

Early summer 2007

Nessie two A/E seven

Jasper

I stood at the window, watching Emmett holding Nessie's hand. She skipped at his side as the two of them disappeared into the woods.

My feelings as I watched weren't sharp enough for jealousy; it was more of a longing for what I knew I could never have. I didn't have enough control to be alone with Nessie; I had never held her or been close enough for more than a brief touch.

I didn't blame Edward for that; his mistrust of me was merely a reflection of my own doubts. On more than one occasion, he had tried to convince me that I did have sufficient control. I knew better.

I loved Nessie as much as the rest of them did — you couldn't help loving Nessie — I wouldn't put her at risk by going near her.

It was only last week that Alice had tried to tell me it was safe for me to be with Nessie. "You need a decision to see the future, Lissy," I reminded her; she hadn't "seen" when I tried to attack Bella, or any of the other times I had slipped.

She smiled. "Not always, Jazz. Some things are set in stone."

Remembering now, I shook my head. Some things, yes. Carlisle's control, maybe, but not mine. That was just the way it was; I had learned to live with it. If it meant keeping my distance from Nessie, so be it.

Bella and Edward had left Emmett, Rosalie, and Alice to babysit that afternoon. I had stayed inside while they built castles out of rocks or something.

Then Alice had dragged a protesting Rosalie into the house.

"Seriously, Alice! You can have Nessie any time you want; you know Edward doesn't let me have that much time with her! Why can't we go shopping tomorrow?"

"Because those shoes you wanted are going to be sold out if we don't go now!" Alice insisted, tugging Rosalie upstairs to change to go shopping. For all she was so small, my Lissy was an unstoppable force of nature.

I briefly considered making Rosalie more agreeable, but decided against it. She hated being manipulated, and would only take it out on Alice when they got out of my range.

I heard the two of them drive off, and then wandered to the back window in time to see Emmett and Nessie disappearing into the woods. I hoped she hadn't convinced him to let her tackle a bear…I wasn't sure I could control Edward if he found out.

I stood at the window, lost in thought, long after Emmett and Nessie had disappeared. One thing Edward was adamant about; I wasn't allowed to be alone with his daughter until I was sure I could control myself.

And I knew I never could be.

Suddenly my brooding was broken by the sight of Nessie running out of the trees…alone. "Uncle Jasper!" she screamed. "Uncle Jasper, help!"

I was tense, scanning for the danger even as I ran to the back door and yanked it open.

Nessie flew across the yard toward me, her bronze curls streaming behind her, and leapt at my arms.

I caught her automatically, holding my breath as she buried her face against my neck. She was trembling, fear rolling off her in waves…and was it really safe for her heart to be beating that fast?

I continued to scan the edge of the woods; what had scared her so badly that she had come running to my arms? Not that she knew to be afraid of me; it was I who stepped back at her approach. After nearly killing Edward's mate, I wasn't going to risk killing his daughter.

As I worked at calming her, I realized that only something capable of fighting Emmett — the Volturi, maybe? — would put Nessie into such a state of terror.

"Nessie, what's wrong?" That was the extent of my air, and I took a cautious, shallow breath, reminding myself that Alice had said it was set in stone; I wouldn't hurt her.

But then, how could you hurt someone who was clinging to you for protection the way Nessie was?

She pressed her warm palm against my face, and I ignored the sweet scent of her blood as I focused on the images she was projecting into my mind. How Emmett had shoved her behind him, shouting for Nessie to run back to "Uncle Jasper"…to send me to help Emmett, she had assumed. Go help him, Uncle Jasper, please!

"Shh, Nessie," I murmured, rocking her gently as I calmed her further and tried to think. How old was she in human years; seven? Was it all right to leave a seven-year-old alone in the house?

I sighed, mentally shaking my head. Not when the child was as scared as Nessie still was; only my influence was keeping her from going into hysterics. But I certainly couldn't take her with me into danger…assuming there was danger.

I had seen more in Nessie's memories than she had noticed herself. I had seen that though Emmett acted fearful, Nessie hadn't actually seen or heard anything out of the ordinary; she had simply assumed that anything bad enough to scare "Uncle Emmett" must be truly terrifying. And I had seen Emmett wink. He loved fighting, but he only joked before and after, not during. Not if danger was really threatening his niece.

Carrying Nessie into the house, I settled into the corner of the sofa.

She slapped my face, her eyes wide. Uncle Jasper! Uncle Emmett needs your help!

I gently pushed her head down against my shoulder. "Shh, sweetheart. Uncle Emmett can take care of himself." Closing my eyes, I concentrated completely on calming her into a state of near-lethargy. As soon as I had Emmett alone, I was personally going to tear him to shreds.

It was nearly half an hour later that he walked into the room; time enough for me to wonder several times if I had been wrong, if maybe he really had needed my help.

"Hey, kiddo," he boomed.

Nessie stared at him for a moment, then scrambled from my lap and ran to wrap her arms around his leg. "I thought they got you!" she cried tearfully.

Emmett scooped her into his arms. "Not a chance, kid," he scoffed. Swooping her above his head, he let her go for the barest second before catching her. "Thanks for watching her, Jazz; she give you any trouble?"

I shook my head briefly.

Nessie had smiled slightly as Emmett tossed her, but now in his arms again, she wiggled to get down. When he set her on the floor, she ran to the sofa and climbed back into my lap.

Emmett frowned. "Hey…I do something wrong, kid?"

Nessie leaned her head against my shoulder. "I want Uncle Jasper."

Emmett narrowed his eyes at me.

All right, so I was playing with her feelings…just a little; I liked the feel of my niece's warm body cuddled trustingly against me. But I was only intensifying what was already there; she felt amazingly safe and protected in my arms.

"Go on, Em; I've got her."

"Yeah, well…if you're sure. See ya, Ness." And he disappeared up the stairs to his room. Just like that, he left me alone with her. No fear for her safety; no worries about what Edward would say. But then, Emmett seldom bothered to worry; he lived in the moment, taking each danger as it came. It likely hadn't even occurred to him that I was a danger to Nessie.

Or was I? Looking at the little girl growing drowsy in my arms, feeling her arm wind around my neck, I began to believe what Alice had told me. Of course it was set in stone; of course I couldn't harm this precious little angel!

I barely breathed as we sat there; just because it was set in stone didn't mean I had to take unnecessary risks.

For several hours all was calm, and then Edward came back to pick up Nessie. He stared at me sitting with his daughter in my lap, and his panic hit me a split second before he jumped forward and snatched her from my arms.

She raised her head, blinking at him in sleepy confusion.

Did I look like I was biting her, Edward? I thought with some exasperation.

"No…" he said slowly. "I'm sorry…" He paused, kissing Nessie's forehead in response to something she had thought. Then his eyes widened, and he began looking her over as if checking for injury.

She's fine, Edward; Emmett had it covered.

He nodded quietly. "Jasper…"

I smiled slightly. If she's bleeding for some reason, I can't make any promises…and of course I don't want her near me when I'm hunting. But other than that, Edward…she's safe with me.

Edward gently put Nessie on the floor. "Say goodbye to Uncle Jasper."

I still expected him to stop her as she ran forward to jump in my lap, throw her arms around my neck, and kiss my cheek…he was tense, but he didn't move. "Goodbye, Uncle Jazzy."

I briefly thought of returning her kiss, but decided I wasn't quite ready for that…probably Edward wasn't either. "See you tomorrow," I told her softly. Edward… better keep an eye on her dreams tonight.

He stared hard at me for a moment, but nodded and picked Nessie up without a word.

oOo

I sat crosslegged on the bed, leaning back against the headboard with Alice curled up in my lap.

"Was it really set in stone, Alice?" I asked quietly.

She smiled, leaning back to look into my face. "I can't 'see' Nessie at all, remember?"

I stared at her in horror. "You…let Nessie run into my arms like that…without being able to 'see' that I wouldn't do anything?"

"I know you, Jazz; I didn't need to 'see' it to know you wouldn't hurt Nessie."

I growled softly. "I ought to tell Edward how you scared Nessie."

She blinked in pretended innocence. "Me, Jazz?"

"Oh, don't play dumb with me, Lissy. Nessie or no Nessie, if something that dangerous was coming, you'd 'see' it. I'm not so dense I can't see that the whole thing was a setup. And I think it was a bit cruel to use a little child that way."

"How do you know she wasn't in on it?"

I snorted. "Two reasons, Lissy. First, you're feeling guilty right now. And second, Nessie may be a decent actress, but she couldn't fake fear like that."

Alice dropped her gaze, staring at her hands. "She was more scared than I thought she'd be," she admitted quietly. "There was nothing there, Jazz, nothing." She looked up at me with wide eyes. "You won't tell Edward?"

I grinned slowly. "How about you tell me, little psychic?"

Alice giggled, throwing her arms around my neck.

She was really more at fault than Emmett; he could never have masterminded the plan, and he never thought far enough ahead to consider how it would make Nessie feel. But I simply couldn't be angry with my Alice…especially when she had just given me what I so badly wanted. And, really, I didn't see how else she could have done it. Nessie had to desperately need me, or I would simply have left her to play alone downstairs while I went up to our room.

Still, Nessie had been badly scared, and for that someone had to pay.

It wasn't abnormal for Emmett and me to go hunting together; he wasn't suspicious when I asked him.

I waited until we were far from the others, alone on the top of a rocky bluff. "Emmett," I said quietly, my tone forcing him to turn and look at me. "Don't run."

"Why would I run?" he scoffed.

Crossing my arms, I fixed him with a cold stare and focused all my powers of concentration on pouring fear into his mind. He dropped to his knees under my onslaught, his hands pressed to the ground and his head hanging between his shoulders.

"That's how scared Nessie was," I hissed, releasing him.

He raised his head to look at me. "It was Alice's idea, Jazz."

"Don't blame Alice," I said tightly. "You're perfectly capable of saying no to her. You listen to me, Emmett Cullen. You ever scare Nessie that badly again, I'll tear you to pieces — and then I'll tell Edward. Got that?"

He stood slowly, almost shakily. "Yeah. Want me to apologize to her?"

I snorted. "Not unless you want Edward to find out you traumatized his daughter."

"Oh. Yeah, guess that might not be the best idea. Look, Jazz, I really figured she knew I'd protect her."

"She thought you'd met your match, Emmett — and she knew if you couldn't fight it, none of us could."

"Yeah…guess that's about right."

I pushed my sleeve up, displaying my scars. "You think so?" I drawled.

"Sure, I could take you," he boasted.

In another moment, we were rolling on the ground…but all my anger at him was gone. He and Alice had given me a wonderful gift…my precious niece, Nessie.

The End

I proofread all my stories at least once before posting, but if you see any mistakes I might have missed, please let me know!

Please note that I have internet access only once a week, and may not have time to respond to all reviews/messages. If you have questions regarding my Twilight alternate history, check my profile first to see if they're answered there. Thanks for your understanding! Barbie