Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.

Trouble

Six months earlier...

Jasper

Emmett I'm not too worried about. He's too big to be fast. But it doesn't matter how fast I run, Edward is always faster. And although I can out-maneuver him any day of the week, he can pick my strategies right out of my head. So my only hope of beating him in a foot race is …

"Ouch! Alice, no fair!"

I laughed as I sprinted past where Alice had knocked Edward flat on his back with a well-timed leap from the trees. I arrived first in the family's pre-arranged meeting place and sat with my back against a boulder to wait for the others to return.

A torrent of amusement announced that Emmett would arrive next. He exploded into the clearing a moment later, barely able to contain his laughter.

"Wow, man, that was frickin' hilarious! When I passed them, Edward was trying to stand up and Alice 'stumbled' (at this, he made air-quotation marks) into him and knocked him down again!"

We laughed together as he sat down beside me. As always, Emmett's happiness was contagious.

Next, Alice and Edward ran into the clearing holding hands. Of course, Alice had charmed Edward into forgiving her in an instant, even though both he and Emmett now had to perform a dare of my choosing. Although ... Edward's emotions didn't really say "forgiven" so much as they said "trouble."

But, of course, Edward could read in both Alice's and my mind that I had not put her up to it.

So it was completely unreasonable that he was now stalking towards me.

In an instant, I evaluated my position. With the rock against my back, there was nowhere for me to go.

Great move, Jasper, I thought to myself. You used to command armies, plan campaigns, strike fear into the hearts of all that saw you. Now you're too stupid to leave yourself an escape route.

Negotiation, then, was my own option. Edward, didn't you hear me? I thought loudly. I didn't put her up to it.

He crouched and sprang at me, driving me into the granite wall behind me with a snarl. I didn't defend myself.

What a difference time and place makes. At another time in my life, an attack like this one would have meant that either Edward's life or my own was over. I didn't like Edward's chances in a real fight. But now I let him slam me into the rock while Alice and Emmett protested.

As I may have mentioned, I can out-maneuver Edward any day.

"Edward, that's enough! What do you mean attacking Jasper! You could hurt him!" Esme cried as she ran into the clearing. She ran towards us with Carlisle on her heels. He looked at me with that knowing smile of his.

Esme put her hands on Edwards shoulders and tugged, but Edward didn't let me up.

"He deserves it Esme! He and his little freak" (Alice snorted) "are conspirators and cheats!"

He looked furious, but I could feel there was no real anger in him. But as he still had his hands around my neck, I decided to up the ante a little. I coughed.

"Oh my goodness! Edward, you're actually hurting him! You let him up right now! Right now!" Esme shouted, repeatedly swatting Edward's shoulders.

"Yes, Edward you let him up right now," Alice sang out merrily from the other side of the clearing. Emmett ran over to her and gave her a high five. They both grinned at the scene in front of them. Even Carlisle was amused.

"Esme, vampires don't cough," Edward growled. "He's faking." But he took his hands off me just the same. Excellent. I slumped dramatically against the rock and rolled my eyes back in my head.

"Carlisle, do something! Jasper's hurt!" Esme was at my side in an instant supporting my weight. I shot a glance at Edward who was rolling his eyes. The others were shaking with laughing.

The moment Esme's arms were around me, I sent her waves of serenity. It was one thing to annoy Edward, but another thing entirely to actually upset Esme. She relaxed immediately and loosened her hold on me.

"I think I'll be all right Esme … eventually …."

Now even Esme was grinning at me. Suddenly, she turned and whacked Edward's shoulder again.

"You boys know I don't like it when you play rough."

Poor Esme; she lived in constant fear that one day our games would go too far and someone would actually get seriously hurt. Then again, considering the number of times her family had been threatened in the past three years, perhaps it wasn't such an unreasonable fear.

Edward was clearly preparing what he thought would be a witty comeback when his curiosity spiked. He turned his head towards Alice.

"What's shiny, Alice?"

Alice left Emmett's side and danced over to us.

"New pennies? Polished chrome? Mirrors? Sunlight on th..."

"Stop it, Alice! I only caught a glimpse, but the vision looked odd, and then you thought, 'it's shiny'. What's shiny?" His worry filled the air around me like the buzzing of flies.

I love my brother, but truth be told, he isn't much fun when separated from Bella and Nes. Bella and Rose had taken Renesmee into town that morning to visit Charlie.

"Oh, alright, but promise you won't panic," Alice said.

It was exactly the wrong thing to say to him. Edward's worry immediately graduated to full blown panic, like a wind tearing through the clearing. Of course, no one could feel the wind except me.

"Panic!" Edward shouted. "What's going on, Alice!"

It was obviously time to calm him down, for my own sake. Although I usually respected my family's right to feel however they wanted to feel, I couldn't take anymore of Edward's stress. I sent calmness wafting towards Edward, who looked at me before allowing the feelings I was offering settle him down.

We'd never actually discussed it, but Edward clearly knew that rapid mood shifts through strong emotions were difficult for me to handle.

Alice sighed before she went on. "Well, once in a long while, the future gets 'shiny,' for lack of a better term. Like a painting that's still wet. It seems to happen when someone I don't know yet makes a decision that will affect us. For example, it happened when Jasper decided to go into Philadelphia one day instead of heading further north." She smiled at me. "It happened again the day Bella decided to move to Forks, although I didn't know that at the time."

"So someone is making a decision that's changing our futures?" Carlisle asked.

"Maybe. But, Edward, before you go ballistic and rush off to check on Nes and Bella, which she will not appreciate by the way, just because the future is changing doesn't necessarily mean that anything bad is going to happen! Look, it's just shiny."

The expression on both Alice and Edward's faces became a little distant. Instinctively, I moved a little closer to Alice.

"Let's continue the hunt," Carlisle suggested. "Alice will let us know if we need to take any particular action."

"Sounds good to me." Emmett announced loudly. He grabbed Alice and tossed her on his back.

"You and Jasper wanna come with me this time, short stuff?" She giggled.

"Sure, Em. Just let … me get … my ..."

Damn. Two intrusive visions in two minutes was rarely a good sign. Emmett realized what was happening almost instantly and tightened his hold on Alice so she wouldn't slip off his back. Good man, Emmett!

Edward groaned as he watched what she was seeing. Both of their thirsts flared, which I felt like razor blades tearing down my throat. Edward grimaced and glanced in my direction, briefly feeling both revulsion and pity before he crammed those feelings down.

"Wait!" Alice cried as she came back. "Let me down, Emmett."

Her fear hit me like a wrecking ball. She loped over to me as I enveloped her with all of my love for her. I wrapped my arms around her as everyone gathered.

She straightened herself up. "There's two hikers ahead. One of them has fallen off some rocks and injured himself. There's a lot of blood." She looked at me. "We can't go that way."

Well, I couldn't go that way certainly. Now I understood why Alice was frightened and Edward was disgusted. It was obvious what they had seen me do. The others probably would have been fine, as long as they weren't actively hunting, when they came across the hikers.

But just the thought of the injured hiker made it difficult for me to think straight. What were they doing this far into the woods anyway? Even if they disappeared accidentally, no one would ever find them out here. There were lots of things, other than me, that posed a threat to them in the deep woods. If they were going to be so careless, I certainly couldn't be expected to refrain from...

Edward cleared his throat noisily.

Get a hold of yourself, I thought. Focus on Alice.

Carlisle was looking at Edward, who answered his unspoken question. "Yes, I know where they are. We can reach them quickly. Of course, we'll have to carry the hiker out at human speed."

"Alright. Emmett, if you'd please come with Edward, Esme, and me. It will look the least suspicious if you carry the injured man."

"No problem," Emmett responded, flexing his muscles. It was true; no one would be the least bit surprised that someone who looked like Emmett could carry a man without breaking a sweat.

"I think I'd better go with Alice and Jasper," Esme said. "Not many humans go hiking in a skirt and heels. Besides I haven't hunted yet. I'm sure I can find something on the way home."

She kissed Carlisle lightly before walking over to where Alice and I stood. Alice took my hand and gently pulled me towards the trees.

Regret. Concern.

Something was wrong. I stopped and turned Alice towards me. I brushed a speck of dirt from her cheek.

"What's wrong, darlin'? What aren't you telling me?"

"It's just … I think I should go with Carlisle and the others to find the hikers. Something is changing, something big. I can't tell if the visions are related, but it seems like I should be there in case the future decides to sort itself out. But I don't want you to have to go home without me."

She looked into my eyes, and I didn't need her to go on; she didn't want to leave me in case I couldn't handle the thought of the hikers in the woods.

I smiled sadly. If I wasn't so damned weak, she wouldn't have to choose between doing what she thought was right and staying with me. Although I never particularly wanted to let her out of my sight, I really was in control of myself now. I'd be fine, and I knew Edward and Carlisle and Emmett wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"Go then. I'll just go back to the house with Esme."

Alice's smile could set the forest on fire. She was so proud of me that I couldn't help a sheepish smile. It was ridiculous really; Alice was proud of me for not rushing off to kill two helpless hikers when no one else was even considering such a thing.

Even standing on her tip toes, I had to lean down to kiss my Alice goodbye.

She waved and then blurred into the woods behind Edward. On the assumption that he could still hear me, I thought, Look after her, Edward. Alice's visions make me nervous too.

I turned towards back towards Esme who put her arm around my shoulders. I forced myself not to flinch. After all these years, it still made me uncomfortable to be casually touched, by anyone except Alice, that is. But Esme just couldn't help touching her "kids." It was one of the ways she showed her love. But sometimes I wished I could remind her that I could feel her love; she didn't really need to touch me.

"Thank you for going home with me, Jasper. It's so much nicer to have company."

Amazingly, there wasn't a hint of pretext in Esme's aura. She honestly felt like I was taking her home, not the other way around.

"My pleasure, ma'am," I drawled as I gently pulled out of her embrace.

"Such a gentleman," she laughed as we blurred into the woods.

ooooo

Hunting with Esme was unlike hunting with any other member of the family.

As impossible as it sounded, she was gentle with her meals. I'd already hunted with Alice, so I hung back while Esme hunted. I knew if I got too close, it was possible my instincts would take over, so I waited for her in the low branches of an oak tree.

The deer she was stalking barely startled as she approached. She lay the animal on its side rather than throwing it to the ground. Her hands seemed to stroke the animal rather than pin it down. And out of everyone in the family, her thirst was the easiest for me to bear because it was the least like my own.

Esme finished her meal and stood, looking around for me with honey-colored eyes. I sprang from my perch in the trees and approached her.

"Ready to go home?" I asked.

"I am," she answered. "Don't you want to hunt again before we go back."

I shook my head and turned for home. I set only a moderate pace so that Esme could keep up.

"Try not to worry, honey. I'm sure everything will be alright. Alice and the others will be home before you know it."

I grinned. "I thought I was the empath, Esme? But you seem have a pretty good read on me right now."

"Well, you're not much of a mystery anymore, Jasper."

Now we were both laughing.

"I know, I know. They're just going to carry an injured hiker into town and then they'll come home. How much trouble could two humans give them? Especially with Edward and Alice to advise on what actions will be the least likely to arouse suspicion."

We slowed as the house came into view. Esme was offering me a stream of comforting words, but as soon as we crossed the strangers' path, I couldn't hear her anymore.

In a fraction of a second, I had Esme behind my back and had fallen into a defensive crouch.

There were three of them: a male and two female. The smaller female sat on the porch steps while the two others stood above her on the porch. As we came into view, the female on the porch gave a soft growl and the seated girl quickly went to her side. The male and the small female, just a child really, had violent crimson eyes. The other female's eyes were darker, but they still shone a fierce ruby red. They all stared at me.

Newborns. On our front porch.

Esme wasn't as frightened as she should have been. But, of course, she might not have realized what she was looking at. I saw the signs immediately though. They were Southerners; even the smallest was scarred. The older of the two females was in charge; the others flanked her. Well, the male flanked her anyway. The small female looked too weak to do much of anything in a fight. All three of them were apprehensive, although only the little female looked frightened.

I fought back a growl. What the hell was going on here. And why hadn't Alice warned us that these vampires were at the house. I touched my pocket and realized with a start that my phone was in Alice's bag. The phone in the house started to ring.

The female in command didn't look at the other two. But her hand twitched and she turned her head slightly; I heard the male growl in protest. I remembered when I too could command with a glance or a flick of a hand. These newborns had obviously been born into an army.

The female was instantly alone at the bottom of the stairs. Her next moves would tell me her intentions. She glanced at Esme and me and … slowly lowered her head. She intended to submit.

The little female on the porch whimpered and the male put a hand on her shoulder.

The newborn female approached me slowly with her hands open at her sides. Esme started to move to my side, but I pushed her behind me again. Until I knew what these strangers wanted, my primary responsibility was to protect her.

The female continued towards us with her head down. I could take her right now if I chose, but that would leave Esme unprotected if the other two came at her. I gave a low growl but held my attack. The newborn hesitated briefly before continuing towards us with her head down.

She stopped twenty feet in front of us. If she truly intended to submit, she would speak first. I prayed Esme would take my lead and say nothing.

The silence lingered for a moment.

"I'm Rebecca," the newborn drawled. I knew a fellow Texan when I heard one.

"Behind me are Ana and Tex." Her gaze flickered up to my scarred face, and I felt her carefully managed fear spike. Good. Hopefully, my scars would give her a healthy respect for what I could do to her if she decided to attack Esme or me.

Oddly enough, in addition to fear, I felt growing excitement from this girl called Rebecca.

"What do you want here?" I growled.

"We've come from the south. We left Texas three months ago. We've been looking for someone since then." She hesitated. "Someone we weren't sure actually existed … until now."

"Who are you looking for, dear?" Esme asked from behind me.

"Jasper Whitlock, ma'am."