Chapter 7 – Light

The flames continued to burn long after the corpse was able to feel, but Jasper stood still and silent. With the pain and anguish gone, he was left to deal with Alice's emotions. He could feel her fear, anger, even the excitement of victory. It was funny how much easier it was for him to sort out other's emotions than his own.

It wasn't until he felt her hand on his arm that he finally moved. Turning to face her, he said in a barely audible voice, "You left." Alice just stared up at him. "You promised. And you left anyway." His anger was pushed to the fore because it was the safest emotion at the moment. "I told you we could handle this together. Even Maria trusted me…"

He half expected the slap that interrupted his statement. At least, he was less surprised by it than Alice. He'd felt the flash of anger and hurt the instant before her hand flew. He even knew he deserved it. He closed his eyes and lowered his head as Alice moved away to the tree line. She wasn't leaving, just putting distance between them. It was a purely symbolic act, and Jasper didn't stop her. In all his time with Maria – with all she'd done to him - he never once tried to hurt her. Yet he'd lashed out at Alice, trying to hurt her on some level as she had hurt him. With all he'd done tonight, the viciousness of the fighting, even the prolonging of Ciaran's pain and death for his own grim satisfaction, nothing he'd done he regretted – until he'd uttered that last statement.

He pressed his eyes wearily and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he whispered, knowing she'd hear despite the distance. "That was mean – and not entirely true."

Alice walked back over to him. Her hands were on her hips, the firelight emphasizing the anger still burning in her eyes. "I did what I did to keep you safe."

"I know," he acknowledged calmly. "But it was pointless."

"Not the way I see it," Alice argued.

"I am capable of handling newborns," Jasper stated firmly, but still keeping his voice low. "And had anything happened to you… my safety wouldn't have mattered after that."

"Of-"

"No!" Jasper said, suddenly very intense. He grabbed Alice by the shoulders and was staring hard into her eyes. "Listen to me. We could have handled this together. I do not seek death. I will not willingly go to my death – unless it's to save you." He added the last with a sudden gentleness in his voice and one of his hands released the vice grip from Alice's shoulder so he could run the back of it along the side of her face. Then he became fervent again. "This," he swept his hand between them, "is as good as it gets. I couldn't ask for anything better. I couldn't dream of anything better." His face darkened slightly. "And there's nothing better to come. Not for me. So I'm not looking to die. All I ask is that you don't take this away from me again. I'm perhaps too much of a coward to face hell, but if you leave – if you get yourself killed – I wouldn't really ever be alive again." He bent down so he was at face level with Alice, both hands back on her shoulders. "Don't. Do that. Again!" His voice nearly broke with emotion. Everything he'd felt from the time Alice disappeared until finding her pinned to the wall of the silo, then holding her as he removed her from the dark, and avenging the wrong done, was in that one pleading statement.

Alice didn't need Jasper's empathic ability to know what he was feeling, because it was all that fear and love and despair that had driven her to do what she'd done in the first place. She reached up and brushed the hair away from his face as she leaned in to kiss him. "I'm sorry," she apologized, kissed him again, then wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her voice full of remorse. "I didn't mean to hurt you. And I never meant for you think that I didn't trust you. I just needed to know you were safe."

Hugging her tightly and lifting her off the ground, Jasper replied, "I know." He tucked his face into her neck and breathed deeply her scent. As he breathed in, his nose traced a line from Alice's collarbone to her ear.

Alice released her hold on his neck and her hands fisted in his hair. The buzz of the fights, both the physical battle with the other vampires and the emotional argument between the two of them, lingered and changed. The relief of holding each other, knowing they were both safe and whole, turned the fearful and angry tension into desire.

"Are you all right?" Jasper whispered in Alice's ear. He was concerned about the lingering effects of the fear she'd felt earlier.

Alice nodded. Jasper's breath at her ear and neck was an intimate caress that sent a shiver through her body. He nipped gently at her ear and she pulled back his head to claim his mouth with her own. She hadn't even noticed they were moving until she felt the tree behind her. Had Jasper's arm not been holding her back and head, she would have been pressed into the tree, not that it bothered her. Jasper moved his lips away from hers, only to have them land on her neck, at the ear, and trace a line back down to the collar of her shirt. His right hand was at her lower back and he pulled their bodies closer together. His left hand, no longer supporting her head, slid down her back, his fingers grazing her skin through the hole in her shirt created by the metal rod. The skin-to-skin contact shot a jolt of electricity through Alice and she arched her back, pressing herself further into him.

"Jasper." Alice's voice was breathy as she tried to get his attention.

He set her feet on the ground, then knelt. "Hmm?" he intoned as his face slid down Alice's body, never making contact, but so close she could feel his heat and breath. Then he placed a kiss on her stomach, right where the hole in the front of her shirt was, his hands sliding from her back and coming to rest on either side of her waist.

"Jasper," Alice said a little more insistently, though at the moment her eyes were closed and her breathing was coming heavy and fast.

When he didn't respond right away, she pulled back on his head again, her hands still fisted in his hair. He looked up at her and was grinning mischievously. His smile was a combination of rapture and confidence, but his eyes – those burned with passion and desire – and Alice almost forgot what she wanted to say.

"Wait," she whispered. She let go of his hair with one hand and cupped his chin, pulling him back up to standing.

Jasper's grin widened and his hand slid back to her back, pulling her close again. He kissed her again, deeply, and hoisted her up so they were at the same height. Without thinking, Alice wrapped her legs around his waist, in encouragement of his advances.

When his lips moved again to tour her neck, Alice regained some semblance of coherency. "Wait," she tried again. "W-" she started, but had to swallow as she fought a groan that wanted to escape. "Wedding," she finally managed.

The effect was instantaneous. Jasper didn't let go, but he pulled his head back so he could look Alice in the eye. What he saw there, she wasn't sure, but his head dipped minutely, as if he was nodding to himself. He kissed her again, but it was gentle and chaste. Still full of love, but the passionate energy was either gone, or he was very much controlling his desires.

"You're right," he said quietly. "I'm sorry."

He started to let her go, but Alice held fast her grip. "Tomorrow."

He looked at her questioningly. "What?"

"Let's get married… tomorrow," Alice clarified.

Jasper broke into another grin. "Really?"

Alice felt a moment's guilt. Had she known how happy he would have been to be married right away, she would have suggested getting married sooner. "Really," she answered. "I don't know that I'd have the will to stop you a second time."

The coy grin from earlier mixed with the boyish one he was wearing. "Really?" he asked again, and leaned forward to place another line of kisses on her neck.

"Jasper," Alice said again, already feeling the build of excitement and sheer want.

"Yes?" Jasper asked, lost for a moment by what he was doing. But then he remembered they were getting married – tomorrow! "Yes," he stated and pulled away again. "Wait. Until tomorrow." He set Alice down and once her feet were firmly planted on the ground, they gazed at each other, both grinning with school-boyish excitement and slight chagrin.

Jasper took Alice's hand in his. "So… Where to?"

"Virginia," Alice said. "We'll be okay," she said, tilting her head slightly. "It's raining over most of the east coast tomorrow." She glanced up at the sky and she could, indeed, make out cloud cover rolling in from the north.

They made it to Virginia just before sunrise and had to wait until things began to open for business. Their first stop was at a Circuit Courthouse to obtain a marriage license. Then Alice went shopping. She found a simple floor-length white dress that poofed out some at the waist. The shoulder straps were off the shoulder, and it had a small wrap that clasped in front. She decided to forego the veil, but picked up white satin shoes and a handbag. While Alice was shopping, Jasper rented a car and they met at around noon, just as the rain was starting. The car was mostly for appearance sake. The humans would probably think it odd if the married couple walked away from the ceremony in their wedding clothes.

Once the two met up, Alice took Jasper on a shopping trip and, much to his relief, quickly found a suit for him. Then they headed off to the Blue Ridge Chapel. There was a small white gazebo there in which Alice wanted to get married. The rain was light and there was no wind, so they could stand under the gazebo and not get wet. Gazebos always reminded Alice of the south and, despite both she and Jasper finding much happier days together in the north, they were both southerners at heart.

As Alice most likely foresaw, the timing couldn't have been more perfect. The usually-booked chapel had had a cancellation, leaving an opening for the couple. They changed quickly at the church and the elopement ceremony was performed that afternoon.

They returned the rental car, changed back into their clothes from the day before, and returned to the cabin in the Adirondacks in which they'd been staying at before the fight, which seemed so much longer ago than just the previous night.

Jasper looked around the cabin. "Are you sure you want to stay here tonight?"

Alice grinned mischievously. "I don't really want to pay for damages to hotel property. Here we can do what we want."

"Oh," Jasper replied, and Alice was sure, had he been capable, that he would have blushed. She started to giggle, but was cut off as Jasper crossed the room at top speed and swept her into his arms.

- - - - -

They spent much of the next year in New York. Jasper had come to love the Adirondacks and Alice loved the quaintness of Crown Point, plus it wasn't far from New York City. Jasper eventually convinced Alice to submit some of her designs to the boutique of which she was so fond. The store owner, Gladys, who had gotten used to the young woman's presence and even developed a fondness for her, gave her designs a shot. It turned out that her styles were quite popular with the big-city types that wondered through Crown Point on vacation. Gladys said she still had some fashion contacts in New York, from which her most up-to-date styles came. She sent a few of Alice's most popular designs to a friend of hers, who loved them. Alice hired a lawyer and worked out a contract that allowed her to stay low profile, but still reap the rewards of her labor.

They eventually decided to buy the cabin in which they'd honeymooned, and Jasper spent much of his time renovating the building. He was half-way through putting a new window in the loft when he felt a shift in Alice's emotions. There was no fear, but some uncertainty had crept in and unsettled her contentment.

"Alice?" Jasper called. He lowered the window to the floor and turned, hearing her approach from the stairs.

"Jazz," Alice began, her eyes still unfocused on the world around her. "We're going to have company."

Jasper frowned. They'd managed to avoid other vampires, except Ciaran's coven, for over a year. He wondered whose path they would cross now. "Who?"

Alice focused on Jasper. "Peter and Charlotte."

Jasper didn't react right away, not that Alice could see. He was surprised to find himself looking forward to seeing them, but he wondered how they would react to Alice and, more importantly, their odd diet. "When?" he asked neutrally.

"Two days."

Jasper nodded. "Okay." There was no real need for concern, so he returned to putting the window in the frame. He must have been more distracted than he thought, because he was startled by Alice's hand on his arm.

"Jazz?" Alice asked gently. "Are you going to be okay?"

Jasper smiled down at her and wrapped his arm comfortingly around her waist. "You tell me, little seer."

Her eyes unfocused as she took his words literally and began to search the future. "Yes," she said, a little uncertainly at first. But she continued with more confidence. "Yes," she said again. "And, I like them, though they think we're crazy." There was another pause and Jasper felt a sudden rush of joy. "Oh!" Alice said, as a smile broke across her face.

"What?" Jasper asked.

"What?" Alice echoed, as she finally looked into Jasper's eyes. "Oh… nothing," she answered and began to walk away.

Jasper tightened his hold at her waist and pulled her to him. "What did you see?" He tried to be annoyed that she was keeping something from him, but her joy was too strong in this close proximity and he could only smile at her.

"Nothing. You'll find out," she teased.

Jasper kissed her playfully. "'Nothing,' huh?" He kissed her again, then went for her neck, knowing how it drove her crazy.

"Right," Alice said, running her hands through Jasper's hair. "Nothing," she breathed out before lifting his head to kiss him fully on the lips. And soon both the vision and the window were temporarily forgotten.

Two days later, Jasper stood outside the cabin, awaiting his friends' arrival. They approached from the west, making what Jasper thought was an exorbitant amount of noise for vampires. Peter stepped forward first, and Jasper could feel his hesitancy. It seemed like a lifetime ago, and in a way it was, but the last time Peter and Charlotte had seen him, he was edgy, distant, and depressed. It was no wonder they were taking great care in approaching him.

Jasper smiled in greeting. "Peter," he greeted and extended his hand. Then he inclined his head toward Charlotte. "Charlotte." Alice stepped out the front door of the cabin at this time, and the two platinum blonde vampires turned to look at her. Jasper held out his hand to her. "This is Alice - my wife."

Jasper couldn't contain the chuckle that escaped at their obvious surprise in reaction to these words.

"Wife?" Peter asked, and though he was surprised, he was also pleased. Even a non-empath could see that Jasper was actually happy and at ease.

Jasper nodded.

"Jasper," Charlotte started hesitantly. "What… Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude. But what's wrong with your eyes?"

Jasper and Alice looked at each other. A silent communication passed between them and Alice said, "Why don't you come inside? We will explain there."

Peter and Charlotte exchanged their own glance and decided to follow the other two.

Once inside, Jasper wasn't sure how to explain the change. "We… we don't…"

"We feed on animals," Alice provided. "Instead of people."

Peter looked horror-struck and Charlotte gasped in surprise. Jasper could sense Alice's amusement at the reaction, though, to her credit, she kept from laughing. Jasper had expected the reaction, but at feeling Alice's emotions, he could see how it would seem funny. Was it really so shocking to drink the blood of animals instead of humans?

"You can do that?" Charlotte asked, rather naively, as she sank onto one of the few chairs in the cabin.

Alice nodded. "I've been doing it for years. Jasper – since we met."

Peter stood protectively over Charlotte, his eyes remaining locked with Jasper's as if he expected him to suddenly go crazy and attack.

Jasper sighed and pushed out a wave of calm. Alice glanced questioningly in his direction, but he didn't break eye contact with Peter either. "We're fine. Honestly. And it doesn't have the same… side effects… that feeding on humans does for me."

"But you're still… healthy?" Peter asked skeptically.

Jasper shrugged. "Slightly weaker, I think. Maybe a little slower." Jasper did look over at Alice this time, her surprise hitting him much harder this time. He wondered if she'd never noticed the difference. But then again, why would she? Her life had never depended on her being at the top of her game. Always. He saw that she was frowning, and he offered her a comforting smile. He didn't mind, really. The trade-off was so much greater.

"I've never understood you, Jasper," Charlotte said. "Why…? Oh well. It's your choice."

"Thank you," Jasper said, with a slight bow, "for respecting that choice."

Charlotte cleared her throat. Obviously no respect was intended – at least not for the decision. Peter squeezed her shoulder to keep her quiet. "You look… happy," Peter said with a genuine smile.

Jasper returned the smile. "I am."

Peter shook his head in disbelief. "Amazing." He turned to look at Alice, really taking her in this time. "You've been a good influence on him."

Alice laughed. She had been standing next to Jasper and she moved closer, wrapping her arm around his waist. His arm slid naturally around her small back. "I wish I could take all the credit."

"Oh, honey," Charlotte said. "I'm sure the credit is yours." Her voice was friendly and warm and Alice beamed at her. Jasper didn't think Alice could sense the duplicity of her words, so he worked hard to keep his features and body relaxed, not wanting to cause Alice any anxiety, but he fixed Charlotte with a warning stare. Had he not known Charlotte, he would have been angry. But he knew she was concerned about his welfare. She still believed that she and Peter owed him their lives and, as such, tried to look out for his.

"So where are you heading?" he asked conversationally.

"We were heading west for the winter. Have you been yet?" Peter asked. Jasper only shook his head.

"Ah," Charlotte smiled. "The winters are fabulous. And it's still so wide open there."

Peter nodded. "Makes for some convenient hunting, despite the lack of large cities."

"You should come," Charlotte offered.

"I don't think that would work well," Jasper said.

"No," Charlotte said, her voice carrying genuine sadness. "Probably not."

"You're welcome to stay a few days before moving on," Alice offered.

Peter glanced around the cabin. "Won't someone be returning to this cabin soon?"

"Oh no," Alice assured him. "We own it," she said with a smile, taking obvious delight in the "we."

Jasper smirked at her briefly before turning his attention back to the guests. They were surprised again by the lifestyle differences between them.

"Convenient," Charlotte stated, and this time she meant it.

"You're welcome to use it whenever we're not around," Alice offered. "We just ask that you not hunt within about a fifty mile radius."

Charlotte's eyebrows shot up toward her hairline. She shook her head. "Strange girl, bless her."

Jasper and Peter both chuckled at this. Charlotte looked up at Peter, frowning. Peter explained. "Well, they can't very well stay here without suspicion if authorities find too many bodies in the area when we come around."

"Mmm. I guess not. Still. It seems like an awful lot of work. Don't the cravings get to you?" Charlotte asked curiously.

"We hunt frequently – nearly every night," Alice explained. "That helps."

Jasper remained silent on the issue. It did help to be full, but not as much as he would have thought. He decided to steer the conversation elsewhere. "Have you heard any news?"

Peter's face became serious. He didn't have to ask to know to what Jasper was referring. "No," Peter said with a sigh. "Same, last I heard. But we don't venture too far south."

Alice felt the change in atmosphere, and it was her turn to shift the conversation. "Have you met many others in your travels?"

This started a conversation about all the places Peter and Charlotte had traveled. It was much more extensive than Alice and Jasper, as they had gone all the way to the west coast as well as up into Canada. They mentioned other vampires they'd crossed paths with, as well as a few of their adventures.

Peter and Charlotte opted to stay for two days before moving on. None of the four hunted during that time. Peter and Charlotte didn't want to travel to hunt and Jasper and Alice didn't want to offend their guests with their diet. Over the course of the two days, the other couple continued to question the sanity of their decision, but otherwise were genuinely happy for Jasper and grew to be very fond of Alice. She was so gregarious, it was hard not to like her. Peter helped Jasper a bit with the cabin and Alice introduced Charlotte to shopping. It was a quick trip due to the fact that Charlotte wasn't used to being around so many people. Jasper hadn't thought it was a good idea at first, but Charlotte insisted she'd had a delightful time and had only seriously considered feeding on two people. She stated this with a chuckle and shake of her head.

The first night after Peter and Charlotte left, Jasper and Alice took full advantage of having the cabin to themselves again. As they lay on the sheepskin throw in front of the fireplace, Alice asked, "So? How was it?"

Jasper laughed throatily. He lifted Alice's chin to tilt her face toward his and kissed her. "Wonderful. As always."

Alice laughed as well and wriggled closer to Jasper, so she was half on top of him and half at his side. "Thank you. But that's not to what I was referring."

"Oh?" Jasper asked, his hand absently running up and down her arm and back.

Alice rolled her eyes. "Having Peter and Charlotte here."

"Mm," Jasper intoned.

Alice propped her head up on her hand, which was resting on Jasper's chest. She waited.

"It was fine," he said, finally, knowing she was waiting for more of a response than he'd given. "I was actually thinking about that."

"Yes?" she asked innocently, but Jasper could feel her building excitement.

He rolled his eyes this time, then tapped her nose with his free hand. "You already know what I'm going to say, don't you."

Alice half shrugged, half nodded, but didn't say anything.

"We can leave tomorrow."

Alice squealed in delight and launched herself at Jasper's lips. "Thank you!"

"Mm," he said, sounding annoyed, but enjoying her happiness. "I just hope you're prepared."

This stopped her short. "For what?"

"I know how things are going to turn out. You've told me," he teased, then grew serious. "But that first meeting…" Jasper shrugged and looked up at the ceiling.

"It will be fine," Alice assured him. She had seen various versions of their first meeting with the Cullens. And she knew that, in each one, they had been initially terrified of Jasper. "Jazz," she said, taking his chin and pulling it so he would look at her. "It will be fine. They'll love you."

- - - - -

A/N – Thanks again to all who have reviewed and added this story to your alerts and favorites. Thank you to reader13lovesbooks, monko25, J., SWaddict1986, and Nenifer121. Thanks also, as always, to my wonderful beta/editor – mom. :D