*I don't own these characters.

Alice's Getaway

APOV

Jasper had just gotten back from a three-day hunting trip with the boys. It was difficult for me to be separated from my mate for long periods of time, but we both agreed the homecomings made being apart at times completely worth it. As soon as he ran through the door, I squealed and jumped into his arms.

Of course, I had seen him coming. I knew beforehand the exact second he would arrive home because I had the gift of foresight. It was common for vampires to exhibit gifts—usually exaggerated versions of talents they held as humans—however I had never come across another vampire with my particular gift of seeing the future.

Nor had the Volturi… which made me extremely valuable to them. But that was a story for later on.

Jasper laughed happily as he carried me to our room like a streak, fast even for us vampires. We wasted no time tearing each other's clothes off and becoming intimately reacquainted. We made it through three rounds before taking a break to just hold each other.

It was then I had a vision.

She was about to make a choice. A choice which would change my family's lives forever. My mind spun as snippets or flashes of future possibilities spilled out, like water through cracks in a dam.

It was a different type of vision I was having. Unfamiliar, yet obviously important. It was as if I was being given a warning of some type.

I knew whatever was coming was huge, and it had to deal with Edward in particular. I had a feeling I was about to get a vision more expansive than any I had ever had before, and I needed to get out of here.

I quickly began reciting the Greek alphabet as I jumped up to grab a pen and a piece of paper. Over the years, we'd learned tricks to keep our mind-reading brother out of our heads. I couldn't let Edward hear my voice or my thoughts as I wrote a quick note to Jasper.

Jazzy,

Start thinking about civil war strategies immediately before you read on. Whatever you do, try to keep Edward out of your thoughts.

Something big is about to happen. I'm not sure what yet; she is still wavering on making her final decision. I do know I'm going to have a vision. A vision bigger than any I have had before, and it will affect our whole family. I'll be out of it for a while, but don't worry, I'll be fine. I need you to grab a laptop and carry me to the car, no questions asked. Drive us as far as you can away from Edward. Don't talk to him on the way out. He'll try to ask questions. Just hurry.

Go now!

It took me only seconds to write it out and seconds for him to throw clothes on us both, grab the laptop and me before flashing down to the car. I tried to clear my head, refine my thoughts and make myself see what was going to happen, while simultaneously attempting to block out Edward.

Edward's voice rung out as we passed him on the stairs. "Where are you going? Who is she?"

Jasper kept going like I had asked him, not answering Edward. He placed me in the car seat and jumped in to drive. He peeled out of the driveway and drove away from Forks as fast as he could.

A few minutes later, she had decided.

"She's made her choice," I told Jasper in a monotone.

The images in my head were overwhelming, even for me who was accustomed to them. I paid attention to every detail, every nuance, every word spoken, as the most detailed vision of my vampire life unfolded in my mind. Two years of future information had come to me unbidden, which meant to me that I had a role in determining which direction we should all go. Jasper held my hand, trying to comfort me during my trance.

When the vision finally broke, I slumped down in my seat, holding my head and trying to recover from the intensity. I finally glanced around, noticing we were headed towards Port Angeles. A peek into Edward's immediate future assured me he had decided to brood in his room rather than follow us.

Good.

That would keep him out of our hair long enough for us to decide what to do.

"Let's get a hotel room in Port Angeles," I suggested. "I need internet access for the laptop."

He didn't question me, knowing I would tell him everything soon. I kept nothing from Jasper. He was my rock, and I knew his analytical mind would help me figure out our next steps. I spent the rest of the drive in deep thought, pondering all of the details the vision had given me. I had never been so happy to have a vampire's photographic memory, because I knew I needed to remember everything.

We pulled into the parking lot of a hotel, Jasper asking me if I was alright to go in. I nodded to him, grabbing his hand to hold as we entered to get a room.

The heartbeat of the human behind the front desk quickened as we approached. It was a typical response when prey sensed a predator was near. He had nothing to worry about, though, because our family didn't feed on humans. Only animals. We made every effort not to be the monsters our instincts wanted us to be because none of us chose this life. My family's private joke was that we were vegetarians, only consuming the blood of creatures hunted even by humans… however different our hunting strategies were.

We got our room key as I peered into the clerk's future. Per usual, the human didn't seem to notice any characteristics about us that he deemed reportable. It was how we were able to live amongst them as we did. Humans rarely interacted with us enough to become suspicious that we were vampires. When someone did have the temerity to try and delve deeper, my family just moved on to the next location.

As soon as we got to the room, I set up the laptop and began typing up my entire vision in as much detail as I could remember… which was everything. I asked Jasper to stand behind me and read as I typed because I wanted to discuss it with him as soon as I was finished. I struggled through some parts and forced myself to take my emotions out of the equation. Even using my vampire speed on the keyboard, it still took several hours for me to complete the written story.

When I finally finished, I leaned back and looked up at Jazz.

"Wow, darlin'. That's pretty incredible." He pulled me up and sat down to hold me in his lap.

"So, what do we do now?"

I knew what I wanted to do.

I wanted to meet Isabella Swan. I wanted her to move here and become a part of our family. I wanted to see Bella and Edward fall in love and not have to deal with all the drama and trouble I had foreseen for them and for all of us.

"I'm not sure." His voice was hesitant as he nuzzled my neck. "My first priority is your safety and reading this makes me want to keep Bella as far away from our family as possible. You going to the Volturi to save Edward? I can't even think about that. It's simply not an option. Then facing them in a battle? Darlin', I can't lose you. It hurts me that you exposed yourself to them all because of an act I committed."

I knew his fear of the Volturi. He had seen them firsthand when they wiped out newborn armies fighting for territory in the South. I also knew he was already blaming himself for reading about his attempted attack on Bella. An act which was followed by Edward leaving her.

"Nonsense." I rubbed his arms, which were wrapped around me. "Don't even start blaming yourself. You should have been getting used to her scent all along, instead of Edward keeping her away from you. Then you had to deal with all of our thirst at the same time. Plus, leaving like that? Geez, could Edward be anymore emo? That is so something he would do!"

Jasper tried to calm me down with his empathetic gift when my voice neared the yelling point. His gift was the ability to sense and project the emotions of everyone around him.

"So, let's save them both all the drama and figure out a way to keep Bella with her mother," he suggested.

I shook my head. "Jazz, think about if you had never met me. What would your life be like if we didn't know each other? Would you really deny Edward, or even Bella, their chance of true love? The chance of being with their perfect mate? The chance at having a child together?"

I knew he sensed my sadness at the thought of Edward forever being alone. I loved Edward, even if he was a broody, temperamental vampire. I was closest to him out of all of my Cullen siblings.

"You're right, my love." He hugged me tighter. "Maybe you having this vision is our chance to keep certain things from happening. Maybe it's our way of helping Edward and Bella find each other while still protecting the family from harm."

"I think we need to give them both a choice."

I took a moment to clear my mind and focus on her future, specifically what would happen if I emailed the document I had just typed out to her. That path was not going to work, since it appeared she wouldn't read it in time due to her infrequent logging in. She would have left Phoenix before reading it. Therefore, I decided to overnight her a paper copy, along with a written note. That future ensured she would read the story before leaving Phoenix.

I wiggled out of his grasp and hopped off his lap. "Can you find the address of Phil and Renee Dwyer in Phoenix? I need to write a note."

I searched the room for some paper and a pen as his fingers flew over the keyboard, getting the address for me online. The thought of him hacking some bank or federal agency for the information made me smile at him while I started writing a note to Bella.

As soon as I was finished with the note and Jasper had the address, we walked down to the car to find a copy shop. I brought the laptop with us and bought a flashdrive when we got there to copy it over. I had the clerk make up two copies.

Jasper stopped me before I started packaging the story. "I just want you to realize that even doing this, we're breaking the rule. She won't tell anyone, will she?"

He was referring to the rule that we vampires have to keep ourselves a secret from humans. I knew from my vision Bella wouldn't tell anyone. I already trusted her.

"She won't tell anyone. It'll be okay. We have to let her have this choice."

He didn't seem entirely comfortable, but he nodded to my pleading. I grabbed a pen and wrote a small message on the last page of one copy, placed it into a large envelope, and then boxed it up with the note. The package was sent overnight to Phoenix, and I sighed when I handed it over for mailing.

There was no taking it back at this point.

Jasper turned his phone back on as we returned to the hotel. There were several voicemail messages and texts from the family.

Jasper, where are you and Alice? Is everything alright? –Carlisle

What did you two do to Emoward? –Rose

Jasper, are you okay? Is something wrong with Alice? –Esme

I don't know what you two are up to, but you have no right to keep me in the dark –Edward

Edward is being more of a douche than normal. Jasper, did he lose a bet to you or something? -Emmett

I told Jazz we needed to stay at the hotel for a couple more days. We ignored the phone and made use of the bed.

AN: Did Alice make the right decision keeping her thoughts to herself? Is she right to tell Bella first? Let me know what you think.