Author's Note: Updated chapter! After re-reading this chapter, I noticed several unforgivable mistakes. They have all been corrected now, and I apologize for the roughness of the old version. Hopefully this one will be much better and will better set the scene for things still to come. Thank you for your continued support, and patience.
Disclaimer: It's not mine, unfortunately.
The clock on the mantle read just after four o'clock in the afternoon. All the extended Cullen family were sitting around the spacious living room waiting and listening to the tick-tick-tock of the mantle clock. Looks were being exchanged, but no one was speaking. Jasper, Alice, Bella and Edward shared the larger of two couches in the room. Cassie sat on the floor at the base of the arm chair Rose occupied, and Emmett leaned against the side of the chair. Carlise and Esme were in a similar pose in the other large arm chair. The last couch was occupied by Nessie and Jacob. This was their meeting, and yet neither one of them quite knew how to begin. "This is harder than I thought it was going to be," Nessie breathed as she looked nervously between the other members of her family. She felt a wave of calming energy coming from Jasper and gave him a small smile of appreciation.
"I'll tell 'em." Jacob offered after sensing his imprint's nerves.
"No, I should do this. It was my idea. And regardless, we'll need their help eventually. But I should be the one to tell them."
"Take your time, Renesmee. Whatever it is, we'll support you if it's what's best for you, and we can talk through the rest of it if we need to," Carlisle offered his encouragement and a warm smile.
"Ok," Nessie took a deep breath. "Well, Jake and I have always talked about the future, and what it held for us, but we just found out something that could change all of it or maybe even answer some of our concerns about it. After we left Forks, some of the wolves apparently chose not to phase as often. Since they didn't have the immediate threat of us to worry about anymore, they just stopped phasing, or at least as much as they could control it. Then, eventually, they stopped being able to phase at all, even when they got angry, even if they wanted to. And when that happened, they also started aging more rapidly, or normally, more like a human, I guess. It's almost like their extra wolf gene returned to a dormant state. So, after learning of this, we were left with a bunch of questions. First, is it even possible to loose the ability to phase if you stop doing it for so long? Second, if it is, then will that happen to Jake, will he eventually stop being able to phase? If not, then will he eventually start aging like a normal human anyway, or can he control it just by continuing to phase as often as before? And what if he does stop phasing, and his wolf gene goes dormant or whatever, can he be…changed?" There were several audible gasps and hisses at the last question, but Nessie held up a hand to silence them. "Before you answer, we have really, really talked about this and we both just want to be together forever, whatever form that takes. If it means that Jake has to keep phasing with regularity, or if it means we have to change him, it's what we want. If he stops phasing and starts aging, it'll be the only way to keep us together at the same appearance of age. I would do it myself, if I was venomous and not involve the rest of you. But I'm not, so we are."
Edward could no longer contain himself at his daughter's request. "This is ridiculous! Are you crazy, Renesmee? You actually expect one of us to bite a dog? It'll make us sick if he tastes half as bad as he smells."
"Hey, I'm sick just thinking about it," Emmett added with a sneer.
Edward ignored the side comment and continued, "You're just like your mother always thinking about aging. Why can't you appreciate the time you do have?"
"We'll talk about that comment later, mister," Bella promised before turning her attention to Jacob. "Jake, I don't get it. What's changed? I mean, I know for a fact just a few years ago, you would have found a way to destroy yourself before you would even consider ever becoming one of us." It was the question everyone was thinking, but she was the only one who could speak it aloud. What could posses a dog to become a leech, the one thing he hated more than anything else in the world?
"Bella, when you were human, the first time we talked about imprinting in my garage, I told you that a wolf would do anything, be anything for his imprint. And that's what this is. I'm willing to be anything for Nessie. If forever is what she wants, and this is the only way to give it to her, then so be it. I can handle three days of pain for a lifetime with her. I would go against everything that my people stand for just for Nessie. If this is even possible. And if it's not, then I'll prolong getting old any way I can. When Sam called me to tell me what had been happening in Forks, he said that I should ask all of you about it. Nessie convinced me that he was right. So, that's why we're here. Apparently, Sam's one of the wolves who can't shift at all anymore. He can't even hear his pack anymore. Jared was next in line to be Alpha, but he hasn't exactly risen to the occasion, if you know what I mean. And since I'm not in Forks any more, I can't take over his pack, so that leaves Leah in charge of both packs for the time being. All of that just to say that I can't exactly take this back to them, they have their own problems and drama to deal with. Sam thought it best if I asked you before jumping to any conclusions. He gets the imprint thing, so while he isn't happy that my life may have to take this path, a part of him gets it. And we still have lots of time before anything has to be decided. I've had no trouble with any of my wolf senses. But we just wanted to be prepared, and to get you prepared and on our side so to speak." The family was silent, everyone looking to Carlisle to answer the medical side of the questions, before commenting on the personal side of them again.
"I think that before I start making blind guesses about changing a werewolf into a vampire, active gene or dormant gene aside, I need to do a lot more research. And I think that I would like to start with talking to Sam for myself. Possibly run some tests on both him and you, Jacob. Because if this is something you are seriously considering, if it comes to the point where you can no longer phase, and you start aging, then I would like to do what I can to make your forever together a success."
"Thanks, Grandpa. That means a lot to both of us." Nessie said with a wide smile before her gaze traveled back over to her parents. Neither had seemed too enthusiastic at the announcement and she had to wonder if Jasper's radiating calm was the only thing keeping them from attacking Jake for even thinking of suggesting such a horrid thing. She and Jake had talked at length about how to handle a variety of reactions to this conversation, but all of that preparation was out the window now. Nothing could have helped them prepare for the reality of the reactions in the room.
No one was speaking, but there was an air of tension in the room. Everyone sat vampire still as they processed their own thoughts. They all knew enough about a wolf's imprint to not mess with it, but did they really want to welcome a former werewolf into their world as a vampire?
Finally, Nessie spoke again. "You know, a little more feedback on this would be kind of appreciated, since when did this family hold back on what we're thinking?"
"I don't like it. I don't think either one of you know what you're getting into with it," Edward snarled. "Is that enough feedback for you?" He then turned his glare to Carlisle. "And I'm shocked and appalled that you of all people are supporting this ludicrous proposal!"
Nessie stared at her father, close to tears, and received a comforting embrace from Jacob which she quickly leaned into, earning her another glare from Edward.
Carlisle looked between his first and his latest adopted children. "Edward, Bella, I know this is upsetting for both of you, your reactions have proved that. But I want to emphasize that by agreeing to help Jacob and Nessie, I'm not trying to undermine your authority as her parents. All I'm trying to do is help Jacob understand and unravel the mysteries and the potential paths ahead of him."
"We know, Carlisle, thank you." Bella said softly.
"So, I guess we're going back to Forks." Edward finally said with a sigh. "It's the only way for us to talk to Sam and get to the bottom of this."
Carlisle nodded his head solemnly, but Alice was slowly shaking hers from side to side. "I can't see it. Not with Jake here. But something doesn't seem right. I don't think we can go back to Forks. At least not all of us," Alice said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Jasper gently asked his wife.
"I mean, that Carlisle and Esme and Edward and Bella and Nessie shouldn't be a problem. But you and I and Cassie and Emmett and Rosalie can't go back. We have to stay here. You know how many times Peter and I have gone back and forth over the past couple of years. His gut feelings and my pieces of visions. Whatever we were sensing was going to happen here, not in Forks."
Jasper stiffened at the idea of having to be separated from half of his family so soon again after rejoining them, but finally nodded assent. "Alright. If you think it's best."
"I do." Her eyes quickly darted to Emmett and Rose and she received a nod from each of them indicating that they would agree to stay behind while the others traveled to Forks.
Again, silence predominated the room, and Emmett quickly grew bored and his thoughts turned to hunting, and fighting bears before slowly killing them and draining them. Yeah, a good bear hunt, that's what I need. You interested, Edward?
"Fine, Em, we can go hunting, but don't get too stuck on the idea of a bear." Edward finally grumbled. He had been listening to his brother's thoughts about hunting during the very long silence, and had finally had enough of it. "I'll be back by morning," Edward whispered in Bella's ear, and disturbed her stillness only long enough to kiss her shortly on the lips. The two brothers stood, and were out the front door in a flash.
"I've still been trying to see it," Alice confessed as soon as the two were out the door. "But every time, I think I get a flash, it's gone again. I can't tell if it's Jake or Nessie interfering or if it's just a lack of decisions being made."
Jasper tightened his grip on Alice's hand. "How's the headache?" he asked her quietly, knowing how much Alice's exertion was costing her body.
"Bearable."
"Just the same, maybe you should go lie down. I'll be up in a bit."
"Alright." Alice gave in with a tiny nod and hugged Jasper around the neck before disappearing up the stairs.
Nessie let out a deep yawn. "This hybrid needs to get some sleep," she joked. "You coming?" She asked looking Jacob in the eye.
"Nah, you go ahead. I promised Seth I would let him know how this went. I'll sleep outside tonight." He kissed Nessie solidly before allowing her to separate from him. "That never gets easy." He whispered to himself as he headed for the front door.
"Tell me about it," Jasper, Rosalie, and Bella whispered in unison, agreeing with Jacob that it was never easy to say goodbye to a mate or an imprint, even if it was only for a few hours.
"Do you need any help with your research, Carlisle?" Bella offered.
"Actually, I could use some help skimming the books in my library if you're interested." The vampire doctor admitted.
Esme smiled at Cassie, and held her hand out to the little girl. "Cassie, why don't you and I go work on a puzzle. I got some new ones off the internet this week when I found out you would be coming." Cassie nodded her head enthusiastically and took off after the other woman.
"I'm going to go sit in the porch swing." Rose made the announcement to no one in particular. It was dark outside, but when it came to vampire habits, it mattered little. It was always a perfect time to sit on a porch swing when you had all the time in the world.
Jasper hesitated for only a second before choosing to follow his sister out onto the back porch, rather than head upstairs to his and Alice's room.
"Don't you ever give up Jasper?" Rosalie asked from her spot on the back porch swing.
"Not when it's important." Jasper answered even though he knew it wasn't necessary. "I know Alice isn't resting like I asked her to. She's up there right now rearranging our closet. Apparently when our boxes arrived, and Esme hung up the clothes for us, she got a few things accidently out of order. It's all Alice was talking about on our run here."
"No one else has ever been able to figure out Alice's system." The words were said as fact without resentment or hostility. Jasper welcomed this new side of Rose.
"I don't know for sure how long we're going to have for this before Edward and Emmett get back from hunting, but Alice told me that I would only have the two opportunities to talk to you and I don't think we covered everything this afternoon before the big family meeting. I'm still not going to ask you to tell me anything specific if you don't want to. I'm guessing enough from your mood anyway. I just need to know if there's something I'm missing."
"A hundred years, Jas. That's how long it takes. And I'm not saying that I'm completely healed, but I'm closer now than I've ever been before. I don't hate my life so much anymore. And Emmett. Em's taken everything so much better than I ever gave him credit for. I'm so lucky to have him. And I can't believe that it took me so long to realize that. I love him, really love him. I love him enough to trust him. He's gone to the end of the world and back with me, and there's so much I was taking for granted. Now that I'm open to trusting him, there's no way I can go back to how it was before. Do I really feel that different to you now?"
"Oh, yes, Rosalie. Worlds different. It's like before you were holding in such a huge burden, and now it's gone. There's no darkness in you anymore. Therefore, now, there's hope. You really did finally find it all, didn't you?"
"I never let myself look before. And I have you to thank for getting me to start looking. If it wasn't for your battle with Winston, I may never have realized how much I needed to let some of my emotions out." It was the closest thing to an apology and a thank you she would ever give him. "That being said, I want to reiterate what I expect from the fight training I asked you for. I don't just want a repeat of battle tactics 101 that you usually give. I want to take advanced living the life of a warrior 501, and fight for your life 602."
"In other words, you want a doctorate degree from the Major Jasper Whitlock Academy of Warfare. Total graduates so far, three. Myself, Peter, and one other vampire, the one who replaced me at Maria's side."
"Yes, I think we're on the same page. Do I get anything special for being number four?"
"No, just the satisfaction that you did it. It's a lot of work, but no one who's ever enrolled flunks out. I think you may even be able to tackle the advanced track to graduation. Although, I may need to hire an assistant for some of the training. I would prefer to use Emmett, but the mate thing could be a problem. It might just be better for him if he stayed off academy grounds during training."
"Why?" Rosalie interrupted.
"Because he might not like me biting you." Jasper said with a half-smirk.
"Biting me? I don't I like that."
"The Major Jasper Whitlock Academy of Warfare takes learning very seriously. We will have real battles as part of the training, and there will be biting, it's unavoidable. Dismemberment is usually avoided, but it has happened. Biting is the only absolute in battle. But if you're not up to it and want to train at a less advanced level, I'd understand."
"No, I may not like the idea, but I'll handle it. But you're right about Emmett. So, I guess that means you'll be calling Peter in to assist, right?"
"Nope. I can use Alice. She's willing and capable. But if you can talk Emmett into letting me train my way, I'll welcome him too. We have some time yet to decide before I'll need the help."
"I would rather it be Em, but I don't know if I can get him to accept the consequences of the type of training I want. So, then Alice it is. But when the time comes to include her, I won't hold back on her anymore than I will on you, so can you two handle the whole mate in danger thing?"
"Won't be a problem for me or her. Meet me here at 10 AM. I'm scouting for the perfect location to turn into the academy tonight."
"Right. And thank you for doing this, Jas." Rose turned her attention back to the tree line and resumed the slight rocking motion of the porch swing.
Jasper turned to head back into the house, but before leaving he did something he very rarely did with anyone but Alice and opened his emotions completely to allow Rose to feel his own gratitude, commitment, and determination of honoring her request and meeting her challenge. He noted the subtle, sure smile that graced her lips and knew it meant his message had been received.
Jasper met Alice in the room Esme had set aside for them and was surprised at the fierce embrace he received from his little pixie in greeting. "Hey, not that I'm complaining, but uh…what's this for?"
"Because I love you." Alice replied simply and kissed him securely on the lips. "And I can't wait for tomorrow night." She added with a coy look.
"Oh, I know that look. It means that I won't necessarily like the results of my training session with Rose tomorrow, will I?"
Alice shrugged her shoulders in response.
"But it'll put me in a mood to love my time with you the night after, won't it?"
This time Alice's answer came as a smile. "I just know you'll want to vent your anger or maybe it's excitement you'll want to vent, but either way I'll be there."
"You'll always be there, won't you?" Jasper needed to hear her say it.
"I'll always be there," the small vampire repeated the words exactly. "Want to get a head start tonight?" She asked already knowing the answer.
"Hmm…if only. But I should hunt before tomorrow, especially now that I know the mood Rosalie's training will put me in. Speaking of, I also need to find a training field. You wouldn't have any ideas, would you?" He hinted.
"As a matter of fact, I know the perfect place. I'll hunt with you, and then we'll go check it out."
"Now, how can I refuse that offer?" Jasper grinned coyly and grabbed Alice's hand before leading her over to the window where they both easily leaped to the ground below and made a run for the tree line.
The next morning, Jasper and Alice returned to the house to find most of the occupants packing suitcases. "What's going on?" Jasper asked Alice confused, but knowing that she would probably already know what was happening without having to ask any of the others.
Alice was silent for a second as she flipped through her visions that she had purposefully shoved away last night when she was busy with more important things. "Carlisle, Esme, Edward, Bella, Nessie, and Jacob are going to Forks sooner rather than later. Assumingly, to see Sam. I only know because that's the direction they start running in, and then they go black. But it's what they were talking about last night. It's just happening a little sooner than I expected is all. Nessie and Jacob must be really anxious for answers."
"Alice is right, as always, but you could have just asked us." Esme's sweet voice called from the direction of the kitchen where she was packing some human food to take as a snack for Jacob if he got hungry during the trip, and didn't want to take time to hunt. "I know the rest of you will take excellent care of the house. Don't forget to water the flowers. Alice, I'm putting you in charge of that, and Jasper, please try to get Cassie to do something other than sit in her room upstairs and read and work on puzzles. There is more to life than that. I got the feeling last night when we were playing together that something's happened in the time we were apart, but I didn't ask, and I don't expect you to tell me anything, but just know that we're all a little concerned and we're here if you need anything."
Jasper flinched at the thought that even Esme had noticed how withdrawn Cassie was. "I'll try and thank you. We may tell you someday, but right now, Alice and I know what we're doing." He promised. "I need to go get changed, have a good trip. We'll see you when you get back." He gave his adopted mother a tight hug.
"I'll be up in a minute." Alice promised as her husband left, then turned her full attention on Esme. "What do you know for real?" She asked.
"About…?" Esme asked uncertain.
"About Cassie. You know more than you're letting on. Did Cassie tell you anything?"
"I only know that after I left her, she spent all the rest of the night locked in her room with my design books."
"I know you're concerned, but just leave it at that for now, please, Mom." Alice begged.
"I don't know if I can. Is there something more I should know? You can talk to me. I've been through this with each of you at some point or another."
"I know, but no, I can't involve you in this. Not yet at least. Not unless it becomes a problem. And right now, this is the only way." Alice insisted.
"It might be a little for that. I think it is a problem now. But alright. Cassie's your responsibility. I guess you know best. Just let me know if I can help." Esme's motherly concern was obvious.
"Thank you." Alice said sincerely and leaned in to hug her mother tightly.
"Lesson one, attack or be attacked," Jasper called as he faced off against Rosalie from opposite ends of the field Alice had shown him the night before.
Rose's posture was relaxed, too relaxed as she let out a small huff. "How is that any different from what we've been doing? What we've always done in training?" As she spoke, Jasper had started pacing back and forth at a human speed, slowly, casually, working his way closer to Rosalie's end of the field with each pass.
"Oh, it's very different, this isn't ready, set, skirmish. This is attack or be attacked, an all out war." He said the words carefully.
Jasper was now less than five feet in front of Rose. He hesitated, waiting, watching, observing, giving her every opportunity to throw the first blow of the fray. But she stayed relaxed, unprepared for what he had planned.
"I don't get it. I still don't see a difference." Rose growled in frustration, but no sooner had the words left her mouth than Jasper sprung into action. Moving at full vampire speed, he was on top of her, swinging one leg behind her knees with enough force to bring her to the ground. In the same instant, he had both her arms pulled tightly behind her back, away from her body. He could feel her efforts of trying to fight back, but his grip remained strong. It wouldn't take much for him to rip her arms off completely, but that wasn't the point of this exercise.
Jasper took an extra second to transfer both of Rose's wrists into one iron clad grip, and lean the rest of his body forward so that his razor sharp teeth were millimeters from Rose's neck. "You're dead." He announced before releasing Rose and allowing her to stand.
"So, not the same." She admitted quietly, examining her wrists for damage.
"Not the same." He repeated. "What lesson did you just learn?"
"Don't let the enemy get too close."
"Right. And?"
"And always keep my guard up."
"Good. Anything else?"
"Never underestimate the enemy. I didn't know what I was thinking when I asked to attend the Major's school of Warfare."
"Flattering. But a strategy that would only be effective against a vampire just out of his newborn year."
"Worth a shot." Rose said as she finally decided on an attack plan and lunged for Jasper.
The two struggled for only a few seconds before Jasper's teeth were at Rose's throat and her arms were pinned to her sides. "And you're dead again." Jasper announced as he released Rose and jumped back so that several yards now separated the two of them.
"Never take the easy, fast, or obvious attack." Rose mumbled to herself as she recovered.
"Good." Jasper said, but gave Rose no more time before he attacked again with vampire speed.
After several more small battles that had all resulted in Rose's potential death, the two found themselves both exhausted, and laying flat on the their backs in the field. "Ugh, I'm never going to beat you, am I?" Rose asked frustrated. "You hunted last night, I didn't, that's hardly a fair fight. And those last couple of times, I promise I felt you trying to manipulate me."
"Well, I tried, but you were focused enough that not much got through. I was impressed. But it's a good sign. It's even more evidence that you'll be successful at mastering what I'm calling the Texas technique. And it gives me some ideas on where to start tomorrow."
"Two things. Texas technique, as in that thing only Maria can do that you still haven't told me the details of? And tomorrow?" Rose's eyebrows raised at the thought of doing this all over again.
"All will be revealed in time." Jasper said sagely, but his eyes widened almost immediately. "Oh, crud, that just made me sound like Alice, didn't it?"
"I think it's kind of cute." Rose teased.
"Anyway, I'll explain as we work up to it. And what's wrong with tomorrow? I mean we might as well take advantage of the fact that Carlisle and Esme and Bella and Edward and Nessie are all going with Jacob back to Forks to meet with Sam. There's not much else to do here and Cassie entertains herself these days." Jasper almost wished he hadn't mentioned Cassie to Rosalie, but it was too late now. He hated to dwell on why she was so intent on entertaining herself and staying at home all the time, and now was certainly not the time to think about that or to let Rose know that anything out of the ordinary was happening with the newest Cullen, his daughter of sorts.
Thankfully, Rosalie ignored the last comment and focused on the one about Jacob instead. "Stupid dog just has to have it all, doesn't he?" She snarled.
"Not that it concerns either one of us, yet." Jasper responded.
"It will concern us when Carlisle comes back and says it can be done."
"That may not happen. And even if it does, Jake will certainly have to stop shifting before he can be changed. Both you and I know enough about the wolf gene to know that won't be easy as long as his imprint is surrounded by a house full of vampires."
"Vampires that the entire Quileute tribe has come to know very well. We're no longer feared as we once were by his people. Maybe that will have some effect on the gene. And even still, you and I both know enough about the world where fairy tale creatures are real to know that it will eventually happen."
"Perhaps. And when it does, we'll deal with it."
"Which side are you on this time, anyway?" She knew that Jasper would know what she was really asking, so no clarification was needed.
"I don't want to get in the middle of an imprinted relationship. But at the same time, I don't know what we would be creating if we brought Jacob into this end of the fairy tale world. He spent so long hating us, to allow him to become one of us, to betray his family heritage…" Jasper shook his head. "I don't know, Rose. I honestly don't. The Volturi have left us alone for twenty years, but what if they find out about this, and it sets them off again? There's always going to be another Winston in their mix for us to deal with any time they decide to come. Can we survive something like that again? And what if he can't handle it as a newborn and we're forced to destroy him? Or worse what if we can't destroy him and he becomes the monster of all monsters in our fairy tale world? It would kill Nessie if this is anything but a complete success. And that would kill all of us."
"So, let's assume that it will be a success. The Volturi don't find out. He makes it past his newborn year without anything too tragic happening. And he's able to completely follow his love into eternity, his imprint into forever. We're only left with the personal cost of leaving his entire heritage behind. That's something none of the rest of us ever had to face. Is it fair to allow him to give that up? Not even Bella had to give up her heritage, and when she did finally have to give up her parents, it was ok, because they believed that she was ok. Jacob won't have that with his tribe. They'll understand the imprint thing, but not the betrayal of who he is thing."
"Exactly my point. Alice is already on his side. She thinks that if he was one of us, she would finally be able to see him, and hopefully Nessie by proxy."
"She can't do anything without that stupid sight of hers, can she?"
Jasper's eyebrows shot up at the insult to his mate, and he had to swallow the growl that was building in his chest. "Watch it, Rose. Battle training is one thing, but talking about my mate that way is a good way to lose your head."
"You can't tell me you haven't thought the same thing."
"Doesn't matter." He did growl this time, and flashed Rose his teeth. She was really pushing him to the limit of his patience with this turn in the conversation.
"For the record, Emmett's on his side too. We talked about it for some time last night, and he figures that Jacob's already not a human, not really anyway, thanks to the wolf gene. So, it's not one of those situations he would classify as forcing a human to love us just so we can change them. Not that it would be that anyway given that he imprinted on Nessie when she was only a baby. I still don't get his reasoning on that one. Anyway, Em also figures that a newborn Jacob would actually be a challenge for him. If he wrestles him as a wolf and then again as a newborn, and wins both times, he'll prove once and for all that it's his talent trumping Jacob's talent not just a vampire beating a wolf. Go figure."
"That actually makes sense."
"Men. So, are we done?"
"Only if you want to be, but I must say that I would be a little disappointed."
"Why? You won every battle."
"Yeah, but it's something Alice said last night that made me think that you'd win at least one battle, just to put me in my place."
"What did she say?"
"She kind of hinted that we would be having a very enjoyable evening tonight."
"Really?" Rose's eyebrows shot up and she grinned wickedly. "How so?"
"Anger sex, ok. Or possibly excitement sex, if you must know everything. Sometimes, you are as bad as Emmett. Either way, it implied that something unexpected would happen on day one of training. And I expected to win all the battles for at least the first week. It's how training always works. The teacher wins for at least a week before the student finally catches on."
"Again, two things. How can Alice not see the difference between anger sex and excitement sex? I mean, I know your definitions are different from mine and Em's, but come on! And second, are you implying that I'm just an average student like in a movie or something? Since when have we ever been average?"
"Enough about my sex life, already. And of course, you're not an average student, I just didn't expect anything special today until Alice implied something was going to happen and then I got my hopes up."
"For anger sex because you lost to me on day one. Don't worry, you won't be missing anything tonight." And with that Rose had flipped on top of Jasper, beginning another battle. This one lasted a little longer than some of the others, and Rose was actually employing some of the new techniques she had just learned. Soon, she had managed to pin both of Jasper's arms behind his back. Before she could get to his neck, however, he freed one of his arms and went for her neck only to be surprised by a sharp sting when Rose bit his hand. He growled, but the momentary distraction of the bite was all Rose needed to get her teeth in position at Jasper's neck. "You're dead." She panted. "Now, go have anger sex with your wife."
"Ow." Jasper responded, now free of her hold and rubbing his quickly scarring hand. "Alice isn't going to be happy about this."
"But that's good in this case, isn't it?"
"I'm going to ignore that. Good use of teeth, by the way. Impossible not to do it, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, you were right. Biting is inevitable. And I'm sure that I'll get mine eventually. You were holding back today."
"Maybe." Jasper said cryptically, and they both started to run toward the house.
"I just overheard something I wasn't supposed to, or maybe I was, but that doesn't matter. I heard it none the less and I'm not happy about it." Emmett said coming into the room he shared with Rosalie an hour later.
"What did you hear?" Rosalie asked casually.
"You've been taking private fighting lessons from Jasper?"
"Yes, and?"
"And you could have told me. Maybe I would have wanted to come. I mean, we can never have too much fight training."
"No. This is my thing. My thing to focus on so that I'm not so much of an emotional wreck. Besides, you wouldn't want to witness some of what we're doing anyway. This is hard core training. No holding back."
"You bit him! How could I not want to witness that? My girl, the tigress!"
"It's not as glorious as you make it sound. It's hard work." She hesitated only a moment before adding the next part. There were just some things that it wasn't right to keep from her mate and husband. "And eventually, we're going to get to the point where he could accidently bite me, too. And we don't need you interfering in an overprotective mate sort of way when that happens."
"Like crud he's going to bite you! Not if he wants to live for very long." Emmett growled and double checked every visible inch of his mate's body for any hint of a scar. "Maybe I should go have a little talk with that war monger right now if he thinks he's going to get anywhere close to being able to bite you."
"You can't talk to him now. He and Alice are having anger sex tonight, all night."
Emmett's eyes widened impossibly larger. "Ali and Jazzy? Having anger sex? In the house? Tonight? Right now? I don't believe that! I would hear it! Not that I want to hear it, but you know what I mean."
"Theirs isn't like ours, Em."
"There is only one way to have anger sex, and if theirs isn't it, then they deserve to be interrupted. Hope Alice sees me coming!" He growled and took off down the hall.
"Jazz, I think you're going to need to go talk to Emmett." Alice said as she relaxed on their spacious bed wearing only her bathrobe, and scanning the future as she waited for her husband to exit the equally spacious closest.
"What? Now? Why?" Jasper stammered as he came fully into the room. He was wearing jeans, but no shirt. And even from across the room Alice could feel his love and desire.
"Oh," she breathed at the feeling. "Emmett heard me ask about your new scar when you first got home."
"And?" Jasper was frustrated at Alice's around the world approach to explaining her comment.
"And he was upset when he heard you tell me that Rose gave it to you while training. He wants to come watch next time."
"I can't risk that. If I let him come, it's going to have to be to participate, not to observe. And even as a participant, it's a risk. Rosalie knows that and she won't let him come if she thinks there's any chance he'll interfere with the training. Why do I have to get involved?"
"Because he's thinking about coming to see you. Decide to let him come to training. Let me check what will happen." Alice ordered.
Jasper took a seat on the bed next to his mate and closed his eyes for exactly three seconds before opening them again. "Ok. I'll ask him to help with Rosalie's training next week."
Alice scanned the future quickly looking to see if it would be a good idea. "He won't like it very much at first, but if you structure it the way you're thinking, he'll adjust to it." Alice flinched at a flash of something in one of her visions. "You may want to slow it down a bit though. He dislocates your shoulder if you move to the next step too quickly. Oh, and let him be the first to bite Rose. If you do it first, he chews your leg off. Not a pretty picture. And you'll have to keep reminding him to use his full strength when he's holding Rose. She'll get too use to his easy treatment and when you trade spots, she'll have to start all over again with her training. I think it'll work in the end. By the time you add me to the mix, she'll be able to beat about anyone in battle."
"Should I ask him now?"
"No, it can wait until next week. As soon as you ask, he'll say yes, so no advanced planning needed." Alice leaned in to plant a healthy kiss on Jasper's lips. "Wait, no, it just changed. He's definitely coming to see you, and he'll need the distraction. You can head him off in the hall. Good luck."
Jasper growled lightly at the thought of having to put the rest of his evening on hold. "Will it take long?" he asked rather than promising to be back soon.
"No." Alice whispered, slightly disappointed in the delay as well, but knowing that it would be well worth the wait when her husband returned.
Jasper grabbed the first shirt he came to in the dresser drawer, not even caring who the designer of the plain white tee happened to be.
"Hey, Emmett, glad I ran into you." Jasper greeted his brother in the hall half way between his and Alice's room and Emmett and Rose's room.
"Good, Alice saw me coming to talk to you. Now, I don't have to walk in on you in the middle of…"
"Emmett!" Jasper growled roughly at his brother. He was very close to crossing a line that Jasper didn't want crossed that night of all nights. "I'm going to cut to the chase here. Alice saw that you overheard my conversation with her earlier and from that you've gathered that I'm training Rosalie on advanced fighting techniques. I know you aren't happy about everything that could entail. It's all over your emotional center. So, I'm going to make you a deal. Give me the rest of the week to work with her one on one. I promise on my word of honor that I will not even attempt to bite her during that time. Then next week when we train, you can join us, and when you see how good she is, you'll want to help to make her better, and even then I promise not to bite her until you say it's ok. I'll even let you bite first just to see that she can handle it."
"Oh, I know that my Rosie can handle a couple of bites, but if you think that I'm going to bite her while fight training with you, you've got another think coming. There's just some things that should never be mixed."
"Get your mind out of the gutter! Besides, I thought you were adventurous!" Jasper teased his brother with a smirk.
"Not like that I'm not. Serious battle training should never be combined with foreplay. They use completely different parts of your brain. You can't tell me you've ever tried that with Alice."
"I didn't have too. Anyway, that's none of your business." Jasper smiled to himself when he thought about the first time he had ever tried to teach Alice to fight. It was part of their deal. He'd try eating animals. She'd try to learn to fight to protect herself. He was so serious about all of it. He never knew if Maria would try to come after him, and he didn't want to put Alice in any danger if she did. If he could teach her to fight, he could protect her. Then, there was sweet, innocent, Alice, who just wanted to have fun with all of it, and show off her ability a little. In the end, she was right. He had been taking basic training far too seriously, and since then he had more fun while teaching Alice.
"Whatever. You gonna teach the rest of us any of this advanced stuff?"
"If you want me to, I'll teach you. And if Jake's changed, I'll teach him. But Edward doesn't need it, he has his own brand of fighting. And Carlisle, Esme, Nessie, Cassie and Bella don't have the heart for it. And there's nothing more I can teach Alice." Again he got a faraway look on his face as he thought of his mate's unique fighting style due to her ability.
"Dude, maybe Rose was right. Maybe I shouldn't have interrupted your play time." Emmett winked at his brother. "You keep spacing out whenever you mention Alice and then you start broadcasting…and well, you know."
Jasper fought to reign in his emotions, sucking them back to himself like a vortex. "Sorry. It was unintentional. But just you don't worry a bit about me and Alice. Just worry about yourself and your own wife. Speaking of, I kind of need an answer that you won't interfere this week and if you want to be around to help train next week."
"What's your goal in all this?" Emmett asked suddenly.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean…do you intend to make Rosie as much of a fighter as you?"
"No. If she's successful, she'll be better than me. She may not be able to beat me one on one even then, but if it came to a real war, a life and death war, she would win over me every time. She could take on bigger and stronger opponents, and take them down faster and more efficiently than I ever could, even in my prime."
"Just promise me you'll let her keep who she is. I mean, the cold, unemotional her was bad twenty years ago, and the way over emotional her is bad now, but it's preferable to before. She really just needs to find a balance between the two extremes, and I don't want her to get too close to the unemotional end again."
Jasper smiled humorlessly. "Don't worry, Em. I don't want that either. And if she's successful, it'll be a good thing. She'll be able to let herself feel without over feeling and when the situation calls for it, she'll be able to remove herself from her emotions without forgetting who she is at heart. I was never able to master the technique, so I forgot who I was when I had to fight. But Rose has something now that I didn't then. She has her mate. I can only imagine how my time with Maria would have been different if Alice had been there. Not that I ever would have wanted to expose her to that horror. But we would have kept each other sane, and maybe now, you wouldn't be afraid to have me teaching Rose."
"Jazz, you know I'm not really afraid to have you teaching Rose, in fact I wouldn't want anyone else but you teaching her advanced fighting techniques. I just don't want her to lose herself."
"Like I did."
"Well…yeah." Emmett admitted embarrassed.
"It's ok. I understand. If I was in your place, I wouldn't want anyone teaching Alice to fight unless I knew for sure that they wouldn't force her to lose her soul in the process. And someone who lost their own soul long ago would probably force her to do the same now. But the good news is that I have my soul back. I have Alice now. And because she's my soul, I never even tried to teach her any of what I hope Rosalie can learn."
"What makes you so sure Rosie will succeed? I don't know if I could handle it if she tries so hard, and then fails."
"Because I learned the method I want to teach her from Maria, and like Maria, Rose has it in her to master it. She knows herself first."
"I still don't know exactly what it is you're hoping to get her to do."
"It'll be better if we just show you. Next week. Rose herself doesn't even know yet. I didn't want to tell her and have her worrying about it too soon."
"Right. So, I guess I'm just going to have to trust you then."
"Yep."
"What time are you training tomorrow? I promise to stay out of the way, I just want to know what time."
"7 AM. Alice saw that we would be needed here in the afternoon. Something about a call from Carlisle she's expecting. So, we're starting early."
Emmett nodded. "I'll see you afterward then. Maybe if something changes with what Alice saw and Carlisle doesn't call, we can play chess or something. I've missed the challenge."
"Yeah, me too, Bro." Jasper said honestly and with a nod he headed back down the hall to his mate.
He paused for just a minute as he passed in front of Cassie's bedroom door. Raising one fist, he prepared to knock on the door. But instead, of knocking, he simply lowered his hand again. What had happened to his family? He and Alice were still fine together, but neither one of them seemed to be connecting to Cassie much lately. They spoke when they had to, and interacted on occasion. But then there were days like today when he hadn't even seen her, much less spoken to her. He tried again to force himself to knock on the door, and again he failed. He bowed his head, wishing he could cry to release the tension he felt at not even being able to talk to Cassie. What was wrong with him? Goodnight, Cassie, sweetheart. I love you. He thought to himself, unable to bring himself to speak the words aloud. What had happened to them to cause this seemingly irreparable rift? Shaking his head, he passed the room without knocking, and returned to his wife. When he got there however, the mood from before had been shattered, and they spent the night simply lying next to each other in silence, each engrossed in their own separate thoughts and activities.
