Kris braced herself for the impact, but the one she felt was not the one she was expecting. She slowly forced her eyes open and nearly screamed. She wasn't on the ground, just like she was expecting, but instead she was in Jasper's arms. There was a faint red glow to his eyes, a shadow behind the brilliant gold. Beyond the look in his eyes, the rest of his face was telling her that he wasn't too happy with her at the moment. She pushed against him, trying to escape, to get away from her nightmare, but he didn't move an inch.

As she flailed and squirmed, he simply stood there and let her. When she jerked wildly, she felt his sleeve scrunch up his forearm and then all of her movements ceased. His arm was covered in crescent shaped scars. Large ones, small ones, deep and angry, light and mild, his body was littered with them. She reached out tentatively and touched a large scar on his forearm. He sucked in a breath and watched as she examined his arm. He waited patiently as she examined him. When she met his eyes, Kris saw the pain and secrets behind them. Her gaze lowered and he let out his breath.

"Why do you have the same marks as me?" She asked him.

Jasper looked down at her as he set her on her feet. "The same?"

The conversation was interrupted by Carlisle, Edward and Emmett as they rushed to make sure they were okay. Carlisle looked so relieved that Kris almost laughed. He turned to Jasper.

"Thank you Jasper. We're all extremely lucky that you were there."

"Lucky." He repeated. He looked Carlisle in the eye. "She knows about my scars. How does she know what happened?"

"She knows because-"

Kris interrupted. "Hey, wait a minute. I don't know what happened to him. I mean, I got mine because that animal you saved me from kept biting me, but you're a vampire, so they can't hurt you, can they?"

Jasper stared at her. "Yes, they can." He looked at her. "Where are your scars?"

Kris pointed to her bandage. "Here. It burned when he bit me. Carlisle said it was because of your venom."

Jasper nodded. "It's very lethal." He looked up at the house and then back at Kris. "It would have hurt. Your fall, I mean."

She shrugged. "I guess it would have. I guess at that point I didn't care." The vampires looked at her like she was crazy. "What!? I finally figure out that I'm in a room full of males, with not one woman in sight, and oh yeah, you're vampires too, and you just expect me to be calm? He," She pointed at Edward, "Already told you that I was raped. I hate to be sexist, but I obviously don't have many great experiences when it comes to guys."

Carlisle nodded. "Would you mind if I asked you when you were raped?"

Kris looked hesitantly at the other three men. "Um…well, it was a long time ago." She said taking a step back while glancing at Edward.

Edward frowned. "No. Not so soon. Why didn't you tell us?" He closed his eyes and shook his head. Turning, he snapped at Kris. "Stop thinking about it!"

Kris jumped and stumbled back. "God, no! Ugggh! Can't you just keep out of my head?!"

Carlisle stepped forward. "I have to examine you. We need to make sure you're okay."

Kris shook her head. Her body started to tremble. Gone was the swift remarks and confidence she had just moments ago. Now, she was shaking, her body vibrating so much Emmett swore the ground would start as well. "I'm fine."

Edward walked forward. "You're not fine." He reached out to grab her arm, but she shrieked and jumped back.

Jasper stepped forward. "Kristin, settle down. It's okay. We will not hurt you." He shuffled closer and stretched out a hand. "I'm going to take you by the hand and we're going to go inside. Once we are there, Carlisle is going to examine you and see if you're alright."

Kris looked up at him. The fear in her eyes nearly crumbled his heart. He rarely saw Alice afraid or hurt. Maybe that's why he was drawn to this poor creature. He was imagining if Alice was in her place. If Alice was the one who was in such pain. He took another step closer.

"J-Jasper, I don't want to be afraid anymore." She whispered.

Jasper nodded. "I know. Just take my hand and we'll figure something out. Carlisle will fix you up good and Emmett and Edward will watch out for anybody or anything we don't know. We will keep you safe."

Kris stared at his hand for several more minutes before finally taking it. As soon as she did, Jasper stepped forward and swept her up into his arms. With a jerk of his head he signaled his family to go inside. He followed them in. Before he set her down, Jasper looked down at the girl and sighed. She was curled into his chest, her hands clutching his shirt. And she was crying. Silent tears that no one knew about but that were clearly visible. At that moment, he wished his gift would work on her.

She looked up and looked him in the eye and said, "It doesn't need to." And she turned away.