The girl ran into a dark alley, but knew instantly that it was a mistake. The man behind her grinned, his shadow high on the walls. She was trapped.

He didn't realize it, but he was trapped, too; just behind him stalked the most horrible monster to walk the earth- the most horrible and the most breathtakingly beautiful. His red eyes were-

Jasper shook himself out of his reverie. The last few days he'd been consumed with thoughts of Edward's past, all of it, from the day he came screaming into this world to the day he went screaming once more into an even brighter, more vivid world. And everything that had happened since then. It was funny how learning something as simple as details of Edward's sex life completely changed his character. Discovering that someone wasn't a virgin like you thought they were shouldn't completely morph their character- but for Edward, for Edward it did make a difference. Jasper thought of the way he treated women with such utter respect it sometimes confused him. He wondered if Edward had always treated women that way. The girl whose body had formed a hole in the earth like the landing spot of an angel- had she been treated with respect? Or had Edward even known her name?

Jasper thought curiously about the villains Edward had pursued, the monsters he had chased down at night to save others. The rapists, murderers and thieves he had removed from life. His mind wandered avidly over the music Edward listened to and the type of pictures he would use as a desktop and the way he forgave others but never themselves, fitting them all into a new image of Edward he never would have imagined before, marveling at how immensely small things fitted into a concept in order to have it make sense.

But mostly, Jasper thought about angels.

He thought about the 'angel' who had made that hole in the ground- both the reality and the fantasy. He wondered why it was that someone had immediately thought of a fallen angel when they saw that. And when they said that an angel had fallen there, had they meant an angel had been injured? Or was this implied in the sense of a noble creature who'd made a terrible mistake? Jasper smiled at that, wondering how Edward felt about having that applied to the situation... He thought it fit properly. Jasper had always looked at Edward as a pillar of goodness, and it was a bit confusing to think of Edward casually taking some girl on the forest floor, even if it wasn't something Jasper would call a 'sin'. Jasper mulled this all over from every angle he could think of, because he knew that though he didn't look upon it as a sin, Edward did.

Edward's religion was one thing about him which made him the person he was, and though Jasper hated to admit it, Edward was an example of someone he wished he could be like: faithful, in control, caring, and passionate. And strangely self-depreciative at the same time as he was an arrogant ass.

Jasper chuckled aloud at that thought before becoming somber again. He turned away from the window he'd been staring out of, still wondering about angels, and how he perceived them, and how the world perceived them, how Bella did, and Rosalie did, and more importantly, how Edward did. He didn't understand Edward's guilt over the deaths he'd caused during the 20s... The last few thoughts ran through his head all at once, and two of them ended up meshed together.

Jasper moved quickly down the hall, knocking on the door to Rosalie's room. Rosalie wasn't the best company, but he was suddenly grateful that they were home alone. He realized that this conversation was going to be awkward enough without anyone else listening in. Imagine if Isabella overheard- or, God forgive, Edward.

"Yes?"

Jasper opened the door at the sound of Rosalie's voice. She was still unpacking her things, making as slow a job of it as she could, though they'd been there for a few days now. The others had quickly decided to check out the mountains which rose up behind the city. National parks tended to offer good hunting, and it was so near to home that everyone was understandably excited. Rosalie, as usual, had opted to go later on her own (though Emmett would probably end up going twice in a row, so they could 'explore' together). And Jasper, Jasper had simply had too much on his mind.

So here they were.

Rose stared at Jasper with a questioning, but open look. He was immensely thankful for the peaceful mood she was in.

"Uhm. I don't mean to pry, but I just... was curious about something."

"And which something might that be?" Rosalie asked coolly, raising an eyebrow. Jasper sensed that his obvious awkwardness amused her.

"It's about..." He couldn't finish his sentence, unsure of how to word it without bothering her. Was there a way to word it without bothering her? Jasper didn't think so.

Rosalie's face became a dead caricature of her beauty, and he knew that she understood what he was getting at. She studied his expression for a moment, and nodded for him to continue.

He held back a sigh of relief and pressed, "I mean it's not about that, really, it's... If, that night, instead of saving you... if you had survived on your own, as a human, and found out the next day... that he had been murdered, would you have..."

Jasper knotted up his brow, hating the empty look on Rosalie's face.

"I don't understand what you're asking," she told him simply.

"You know that Edward used to hunt murderers, thieves..."

"Rapists."

"Yes." For some reason, hearing her say the word made Jasper more comfortable, though he couldn't imagine why. "He seems to think it's as horrible to kill one of those people... as it is to kill an innocent... Because, even a monster, he says, has loved ones.

"If you woke up the next morning in the hospital, and someone told you Roy and his friends had been killed... would you call their murderer a sinner?"

Rosalie stared at Jasper. The silence stretched between them and Jasper asked himself why the hell he was there. He knew what Rosalie's answer would be, didn't he? Why did he have to mention this to her? She'd been in such a good mood and he had ruined it. Jasper felt awful and wanted Rosalie to forget he'd ever mentioned a thing.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I brought this up. I knew your answer.. I didn't mean to-" Words tumbled out, but Rosalie shook her head.

She ventured, "With Roy... I don't think he ever had anyone who truly loved him Jasper, except for his parents."

Jasper felt his nose wrinkle in his confusion, a strange habit of his. He had expected a simple 'No' from her, and wondered about the hesitance he felt from her.

"And me, of course," she added with a bitter smile. "Jasper, you of all people have to understand that there are many different ways to perceive a monster."

"Huh?"

Rosalie set down the dress she'd been putting on a hanger for her closet.

"The world's vision of a monster is not the same as my vision of a monster, or Carlisle's vision of a monster."

"...Or Bella's or Edward's," Jasper finished, his mind immediately connecting to earlier thoughts. "Just like everyone has their own image of what an angel is."

Rosalie glanced at him strangely as he said that. "Yes..." she ventured, "and Edward calls it a sin to kill a monster because... perhaps he understands what it's like to be the loved one of something others would call a beast."

Jasper paused at that. "What do you mean?"

"Jasper... You have killed many, many people." Rosalie looked directly at him, and Jasper felt ashamed, but it was only the truth. He nodded. "Imagine if, tomorrow, you were walking alone and someone figuring themselves to be righteous killed you. Though you have done your best to repent for your sins, it might be easy for them to justify what they did... because in the world according to that person, you are a monster."

Jasper breathed in deeply, once again trying to fit together a complete picture of the person that was Edward, and finding it easier, and more difficult with everything Rosalie had said. Then he shook his head and said, "Honestly, Rose, if someone did kill me because of the things I've done... I couldn't blame them." Sadly, he told her, "I already know that I'm a monster."

"But Jasper," she added with exasperation, "...Now imagine how we would all feel if we lost you. Would Alice deserve the pain of mourning you because someone else thought you were a monster? Would I, as your sister? ...Or Edward, as your brother?"

Silence stretched between them before Rose continued, "Perhaps Edward thinks of the murder of a monster as a sin... because 'monster' carries a different meaning for everyone. And as you put it, an angel is a different thing to everyone.

"And sometimes, Jasper, an angel and a monster can be the exact same person."