Chapter 1: Welcome to Forks
The small town of Fork Washington is located on the Olympic Peninsula. More than seventy years ago we lived in the area, and met the Quileute Wolf pack. We'd learn that the wolf pack was long gone, but regardless we would continue to uphold our end of the treaty we had agreed to in good faith.
Our family had been in Forks for a couple of days before Edward and I joined them. Today was a typical overcast day in Forks. There were many such days in Forks, over two hundred in fact. This was one of the main reasons we had chosen to move to here. In the last few weeks we'd completed the move to our new homes. All that was left for Edward and I to do was bring ourselves and our bikes, everything else had already been moved.
Our first stop was the Post Office. We pulled our bikes up to the curb and came to a stop. There were a few humans near the entrance. I shut off the bike and put out the kick-stand as I examined the humans closer. I noticed that they appeared to be members of the Quileute tribe.
There were several humans near the entrance; One of whom I recognized as Sue Clearwater, the Director of Nursing for the Emergency Department at Forks Community Hospital. There were a couple of teenagers with them all gathered around talking. One of the men was in a wheelchair. He was a heavyset man with deep wrinkles in his face, black hair and eyes. Another male appeared to be in his mid-twenties. The teenagers were looking at us or more specifically our bikes. I recognized them as Jacob and Seth. We'd meet them a few weeks prior when we'd visited Forks. The last human was a young female in her early twenties. She had a slim build, black hair and brown eyes. She was very beautiful for a human girl.
"They are talking about us," Edward whispered as we got off our bikes. "Sue is telling the two men that she's seen the family out and about the town in the last few days, and that Carlisle moved into his office at the Hospital today."
I pulled off my helmet and took off my gloves before turning to look at the humans again. "Hey, Jasper and Edward," Jacob yelled at us.
Edward and I waved as the three older humans turned to look at us.
"Seth go wait in the car. Leah, go with him," Sue said. Her voiced was strained. Seth and Leah both groaned, but head in the opposite direction from us. The emotions coming off of the three older humans were deep fear and protectiveness directed toward their children. Sue appeared less fearful then the two men, but it was still there.
I placed my helmet on the seat of the bike. I sent a wave of calm emotions toward the three humans, but paid them little attention.
"The men are waiting for us to attack," Edward said with a sigh.
I rolled my eyes and turned to look at him. "You're joking right?"
Edward shook his head no. What the fuck!' I thought. I was not pleased at all.
"Jacob! Where you do think you're going?" I heard one of the men say in a gruff voice. I turned my attention back toward the humans to see that Jacob was approaching us.
"I'm going to say 'hi' to Jasper and Edward," Jacob replied.
"Jacob, what did I tell you," the man in the wheelchair began, but was interrupted by Jacob.
"Knock it off dad. You're being a superstitious old man," Jacob complained and headed our way ignoring his father. Superstitious old man or not I was pretty sure that Jacob's dad was dead on about what we were.
"Hey guys," Jacob said.
"Hello Jacob, it's nice to see you again," I said.
"I was so hoping to see either your Jaguar or Edward's Vanquish," Jacob said.
"Sorry to disappoint you Jacob, but both of those cars are already parked in the garage at home. We just had ourselves and the bikes to bring today," Edward replied.
"Maybe I could come over sometime to check them out?" Jacob asked. His emotions were hopeful and eager. It was kind of hard to tell him no and then have to feel his disappointment.
"Sure, but I don't think your dad will approve," I replied. I hoped that might change his mind, but I was doubtful.
Jacob shrugged. "I'm eighteen. I really don't care if he approves of whom I want to hang out with."
"Excuse me Jacob I need to get our mail, but Edward can give you directions to our house," I replied and headed toward the Post Office entrance. The humans watched me wearily as I approached.
"Good day Ms. Clearwater," I said and ducked my head like a good southern gentlemen. They may have been thinking unpleasant things about me, but I was raised to show respect regardless.
"Good day… um… Dr. Hale," Sue mumbled.
I continued into the post office and quickly found our mailbox. Using the key we had gotten a few weeks prior I opened the box and grabbed the mail out of the slot. I stuffed the letters into the inner pocket of my leather jacket, locked the box and headed back toward the door. I walked out of the Post Office and headed for the bikes.
"Are you done, Edward?"
"Yeah, i gave Jacob directions, but his dad doesn't seem pleased," Edward answered as he nodded his head toward where Jacob and his father were having an animated argument over his association with us. Jacob showed no signs of backing down and neither did his father.
I sighed, 'This is going to be a difficult few years.'
Edward and I put our helmets back on and head for the Shell station to fill up before heading home. It was a short ride from the Post Office to the gas station. I noticed that the patrol car for the Chief of Police was parked near the entrance of the store.
"I'll go pay for the fuel while you fill up the bikes," I say to Edward. We could have paid at the pumps, but I figured one of us should introduce ourselves to the Chief of Police. The chief was leaning against the counter talking to the clerk when I entered. Neither of the two men paid me any attention.
"Have you met the new doctors, Eric?" the chief asked.
"No I haven't. I can't even remember their names," Eric replied with a confused expression that easily matched his bewildered emotions.
"Doctors Cullen and Hale," I said while approaching the counter.
"Yes, that's it," Eric said. "Oh, sorry what can I help you with?"
I noticed the chief roll his eyes and I bit my tongue to keep from smirking. "Paying for the gas on pump two, the bikes out there."
Eric checked the read out on the pump. "That'll be twenty-five dollars."
I pulled out my wallet and handed over my black American Express card. Eric's eyes looked shocked as he took the card. America Express did not give out these cards freely or easily. You had to be one of their top clients and very rich.
"Cullen? Are you one of the new doctors?" Eric asked. 'Wow I think he figured that all out by himself.
"Yes, I'm the Dr. Jasper Hale," I replied.
"But your card says Jasper Cullen?' Eric replied.
"Yes, Cullen is my married name. However, having three doctors that work closely together with the same last name would be very confusing for the staff in an emergency. I choose to use Hale, which was my last name before getting married," I replied, and showed him my drivers license which had both Hale and Cullen listed as my last name.
"Shouldn't your wife have taken your name?" Eric asked as he swiped my card. This guy was obviously a bit slow.
"I don't have a wife, but I do have a husband and his name is Edward," I replied as Eric handed me back my card and the receipt to sign. The boy was project strong emotions of confusion.
I signed the receipt and gave it back to him before turning to the Chief of Police who had a smirk on his face. "Dr. Jasper Hale, but you can call me Jasper," I said extending my hand to him.
"Charlie Swan, Chief of Police for Forks," Charlie said, and shook my hand. He gave no indication of noticing the temperature difference.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Chief Swan," I replied.
"Please, call me Charlie."
"Charlie," I replied with a slight nod. "The handsome young man out there is my husband and partner, Edward. He's the new neurosurgeon."
Charlie released my hand, "I met Carlisle earlier today when he was moving into his office. He's much younger than I expected, considering I was told he had children in the twenties."
I chuckled, "Carlisle is older then he looks but he still quite young. He and Esme started adopting and fostering all of us kids when they were quite young, and still in college. Edward was their first, followed shortly after by my twin sister, Rosalie, and I. Esme is my aunt and she took us in after my parents died. We have three other siblings, two brothers and a sister; as well as Carlisle's younger brother who are all part of our large family"
"I'm sorry to hear to about your parents," Charlie said.
"It was a long time ago, Charlie. I was quite young and don't really remember them that well. Carlisle and Esme have been my parents for most of my life," I replied.
"Is it even legal for two guys to get married?" Eric asked. 'Yeah this boy was slow'. Both Charlie and I turned toward Eric, but before I could answer the chief did.
"Not in Washington, Eric; but Jasper and Edward attended Harvard University, which is in Massachusetts and it is legal for them to get married there," he answered.
I turned back to the chief. "Charlie it's been a pleasure meeting you, but I must be off. My sister-in-law is waiting for us at home and I really don't want to keep her waiting. She is a scary little thing, and if were late she'll make me go shopping with her."
Charlie cringed, "Yes, I can see how that would be bad. It's been nice meeting Jasper. I'm sure we'll see each other around and have more time to talk."
"Of course, good day to you Charlie, Eric," I said and headed out of the store. As I approached the bikes, I could feel Edward's amusement and humor at the situation that transpired in the store.
"That was not funny," I said as I grabbed my helmet.
"Oh yes it was, but that wasn't the funniest part. You should have heard that boy's thoughts as he tried to piece it all together," Edward laughed.
"No, thank you. I think all the hair gel he is using has seeped into his brain and made him dumb," I replied as I got on my bike.
"Interesting theory," Edward laughed again before starting up his bike and pulling away. I just shook my head and started up my bike and followed Edward home.
We arrived at our home at the edge of Fork City limits. The house was set back about a mile from the main road. The distance gave us the privacy we need, but also allowed for easy access to the house. Edward and I had chosen to build a custom home. Esme had designed it with Emmett's help. He had finally completed a degree he found useful. Emmett has a short attention span, but architecture proved to be one area he found enjoyable. This was also the first time that Edward and I would live apart from the family.
The house was complex, because simple just wasn't our style. The house gave the appearance of a small home, but was much bigger on the inside. We'd build the house on the side of a small hill, which allowed for a sub-level that was partially visible on one side of the house. It was a feature of Tanya's home that we liked.
The east end of the house was the only part that had a sub-level. It was visible fully on two sides and partially on the front side of the house. The east side was completely visible as was the backside until it connected back with the hill.
The sub-level contained our media room, which we would use for movie night that we regularly had with Alice and Riley. The room contained a complete surround sound system along with a top of the line entertainment system complete with a sixty-five inch flat panel plasma TV. We also had a digital movie project and screen that we occasionally used. The game room, which had a pool table, poker table, darts and various other games was located across from the Media room. There was also one other room that was left unfinished.
Directly above the sublevel were two bedrooms, my study, the master bath and another full bath in addition to a half bath. Adjacent to this section were the main living areas of the house. My study had a window that looked out onto the front covered porch, which led into the foyer. I had two large windows that looked out onto the front lawn, but the house was angled in a way that no one could see into them from the driveway.
A large sitting area with custom built cushioned wall seating was directly to the left of the open foyer. High vaulted ceilings gave the space a grander appearance as it looked out into the great room, and up to a small second floor. A large stone fireplace sat in the middle of the right wall of the great room. Two ornate sofas and a chair made for a cozy setting. The back wall held a set of large French doors and floor to ceiling windows that looked out on to the covered back porch and the large open backyard.
The great room opened to the kitchen and a hallway which lead to Edward's music room, the laundry room and the attached three bay garage. The kitchen was huge, especially for a room we would never use. It had plenty of counter space and an island with breakfast bar. Numerous large windows in the back wall looked out onto the backyard, which leaded into a forested area that connected to the Carlisle and Esme's home.
Edward's music room was large, nearly twice the size of my study. It had windows in three walls, one of which looked out onto the front porch. The room also held numerous paintings and photographs on the walls.
The stairwell which led to the second floor started in the foyer. It hugged the walls of Edward's music room as it curved around and up to the second floor. The second floor consisted of three rooms. The library which took up most of the second floor. It had windows only in the back wall that looked out onto the forest. The view from that room was spectacular, and the natural light was perfect for reading. There were several very comfy chairs and sofas near the windows. There was also a fireplace along the west wall. I planned to spend the cold snowy days of winter that I had off up in the room with a good book, a roaring fire in the fireplace and read while the snow fell gently outside the windows.
The other two rooms on that floor consisted of a third bedroom and a storage room. Why we needed three bedrooms was beyond me, but Alice had somehow convinced Esme that they were needed. Thankfully Esme had put her foot down when it came to closet space. If Alice had her way half our house would be one big closet. Give me a button down shirt, a pair of jeans, socks and my riding boots and I'm a happy man. Add on a selection of hot sexy underwear to occasionally tease Edward and I'm a very happy man.
We followed the driveway around as it snaked around the front of the house and on around to the side of the house where it met up with the attached garage. You could see the full front of the house as you emerged from the forest that lined the drive up to the main road. As the drive way snaked around to the front of the house and up around the side it was lined with shrubs and plants that prevent anyone from seeing into the house. The driveway continued on to another stand alone garage with five bays that held Edward's Aston Martin, my Jaguar and a Ferrari. The other two bays were just in case Edward got the itch to buy another fast car. The last such itch ended with us buying a brand new Ferrari 458 Italia.
I punched in the security code in to the key pad and the door opened to the third bay, which was reserved for our bikes. The other two bays contain Edward's Volvo and my Range Rover. Edward had gotten me hooked into buying cars and motorcycles in the last decade. I especially loved going for long rides with Edward on our bikes.
Edward hit the button to close the garage door as we headed into the house. Riley, Alice and Esme had been busy setting everything up for us. I put away my helmet and gloves, and was just taking off my jacket when I hear the soft but distinctive sound of padded feet hitting the hardwood floors. Fenris my two year old German Shepherd came skidding around the corner and then running right for me. I finished hanging up my jacket and then crouched.
"Hey boy! Did you miss daddy," I said. Fenris barked happily as he licked my face.
"You'd better keep him away from Alice," Riley said as he came around the corner. Riley and Alice had agreed to watch over him while Edward and I had been away.
"Why do I need to keep him away from Alice?" I said as I looked up at Riley.
"He made off with one of her Jimmy Choo shoes in the last week and she was not pleased," Riley said.
"Was Auntie Alice being mean to you?" I said to Fenris. I rub the top of his head gently then led the way into the house to see if the unpacking was done.
"Alice and I finished unpacking everything yesterday. Satellite TV, land-line phone and high-speed Internet service was hooked up yesterday as well," Riley said.
"Thank you for taking care of all that for us," Edward said.
"You're welcome. I'm sure Alice will find some way to get something out of it," Riley laughed.
Just as I was about to comment Emmett enter through the French doors that over looked the backyard. "Jasper, we may have a problem."
Demetri entered a moment after Emmett. "It's not as bad as you are making it out to be, Emmett."
"Slow down. What is going on?" I replied.
"We found a scent a couple miles north of Forks; it was one of our kind. We followed the scent in both directions and found other trails. All of them lead to the Quileute border, but they are all a few months old," Demetri said.
"How old is the newest scent?" I asked.
"If I had to guess I'd put it at about six weeks give or take a week," Demetri replied.
"Let's hope that whoever it is has moved on to another area, but we should remain vigilant. Also, did either of you recognize the scent?"
"No, neither of us are familiar with it," Emmett answered.
"Make sure that Carlisle knows about this as soon as he gets back from the hospital," I added.
"It also wouldn't hurt to have Alice keeping an eye out for anyone thinking about visiting the area for a while," Riley added.
"Good idea. We just got here and I personally would like to be able to live here for a while. This is the first time in a while we're going to be able to act almost normal," I said.
Speaking of the little pixie she came dancing through the French doors. "Oh good, you're all here," Alice said.
We all rolled our eyes. "Like you didn't know we'd all be here," Edward said.
"Jasper, welcome home, How is my favorite brother," Alice said as she hugged me.
"Hey, I thought I was your favorite brother?" Edward said.
"Only when you aren't being mean to me," Alice said with a pout, and then hugged Edward.
"Jasper you owe me new shoes. That mangy mutt of yours chewed up a pair of my Jimmy Choo shoes!" Alice whined and Fenris moved to hide behind me.
"Alice, stop scaring my dog. Beside I already figured you've bought ten new pairs and charged me for them already," I replied with a knowing smirk.
"They'll be delivered tomorrow," Alice said with a grin. I shook my head, but couldn't help also grinning at her.
"We're leaving at six, so everyone meet up here and be ready to go on time," Alice said.
"Wait, what?" I said.
"Oh, sorry... We're all going out tonight to a club in Seattle. We're leaving here at six so we can be there early and get good seats," Alice said.
"Alice, we're not going out to a club," Edward said.
"Yes, we are and don't bother arguing with me, Edward you know I always win," Alice said.
"Fine, Alice," I sighed and headed into the kitchen to feed Fenris. Fenris followed close beside me. He kept me between him and Alice and watched her carefully until he entered the kitchen.
I opened a new bag of dog food and pour some into Fenris' dish, and then filled his water bowl. Fenris went right for the dog food. I washed my hands then head back out to join everyone in the great room.
"Jasper there are two boxes in your study that you are to take to the hospital. They have a few small paintings, photographs and other items to decorate yours and Edward's offices," Alice said.
"I'll grab those and put them in the Range Rover to take with us later this afternoon," I replied. The boxes were sitting on my desk and were labeled with Edward and my names on the side.
My box contained several paints that were all had some sort of historical theme. There was one of a civil war battle, a painting of ancient Rome and one of the American Revolution. Alice had also taken the time to frame my diploma from Harvard. The last couple of items in the box were picture frames. One was of Edward and me at our wedding, which was an amazing photo that really captured the love we have for each other. We were just holding each other and staring into each other's eyes. There was also a frame that contained small photos of the rest of the family, and one frame that was empty.
"Alice, why is there an empty frame in the box?" I asked.
"I haven't gotten the photograph for it yet. Just bring it with you and I'll give you the photograph when I get it," Alice replied.
I shrugged, placed the items back in the box and carried both boxes out to my truck. I was curious about the other photo that Alice had chosen, but put the thought in the back of my mind for the moment.