Synopsis: Jasper shops for an engagment ring.

P.S.: We may see the continuation of this in later chapters. ;)

Jasper closed his eyes and allowed a wave of calm to wash over him. Had he not been surrounded by a plethora of emotions coming from the humans around him, he wasn't sure how he would have been reacting. Most of the time Jasper wasn't sure of his own emotions. But as he stared through the glass walls of the shop at the sparkling engagement rings in their display cases, he knew exactly how he felt.

Trying to quell his growing nerves, he pushed open the door and went in. As he pushed it, he heard the same tinkling bell sound that signaled his entry into a diner in Philadelphia five years ago- his and Alice's first meeting. There were two men in the corner. One was holding a ring in his hands and the other appeared to be friend helping him buy it.

"Do you think she'll like it?" the man with the ring asked.

"She'll love it. You know she'll say yes," the other man replied.

The man was emanating pure love. The same kind hat Jasper felt whenever he thought of Alice. He had asked her not to look into the future, and she knew this usually meant he was getting a surprise for her. She was spending the day with Edward, and Jasper had asked him to keep her oblivious to what he was doing.

He stared at the store around him, feeling lost and confused. Diamonds and gems of various kinds glinted back at him- some tiny, some large, some plain, and some reflecting a giant array of colors. They were all beautiful; but to him, they were all the same. Each ring bore the same shine and ostentation as the last. He couldn't see any that he wanted to give to Alice to ask if she would be his wife.

As he walked past the several display cases, he began to doubt. The only decisions he was good at making led to the deaths of hundreds of humans and newborns alike. The only other choice he made was to follow Alice, and it changed his life entirely. He knew without a doubt she was the woman he was going to call his wife, and he wanted everything to be perfect as he asked her. But as he stared at ring after ring, he realized he didn't know how to do that. Jasper didn't know how to live with a family or be a husband; and everytime he thought of that lifestyle, it left a bitter taste in his mouth. What if he wasn't capable of being the man Alice expected him to be? How could he expect to have her for eternity when he couldn't even find the right ring for her?

"Anything in particular you're looking for, dear?" An elderly woman approached him, and Jasper assumed she was the dealer in charge. She had a welcoming aura about her and smiled understandingly when he shifted uncomfortably. "Don't worry, half of the men that come here have no idea what they're looking for at first. Is she a woman of expensive taste or does she prefer things simple?"

Jasper knew that Alice loved the most expensive clothes. She enjoyed things of fine quality. Yet he compared the look on her face whenever she bought an expensive pair of shoes to whenever he brought home a single flower for her. As he continued to ponder uneasily, the woman smiled at him.

"If you love her, I'm sure you will find what you're looking for," she walked away, and he secretly thanked her for giving him this moment alone.

Jasper looked at the display in front of him. There was a small ring that reminded him of Alice's petite finger that had on a large diamond. On the bottom shelves there were rings of various colors. With a pang of guilt, he suddenly realized that he didn't know what her favorite color was. In a moment of panic he reached for the ring he had seen with the large diamond. He thought of how she might react if he gave it to her. She would love the diamond, but he panicked again when he thought of how it would scrape against her skin whenever the embraced. He put it back on its shelf and tried not to let the panic consume him as every ring started to scream aloud its flaws. A pink ring would be cute to her, but might clash horribly with the wrong outfit. The ring with the embellished band might get faded over the years. The one with the small jewel looked like it would break once he held it.

He backed away from the cases before he could smash his fist into them. He ran his hand helplessly over his face. His other hand fell at his side and he felt his skin move against the surface of a small jewel. He looked down at the tiny ring and picked it up. It had a simple golden band with a simple diamond that caught the light brilliantly and reflected it in various colors, similar to Alice's skin in sunlight. The ring had nothing truly special about it, and compared to the others he had seen, it seemed to pale in comparison. He couldn't see Alice's face in it, nor did he feel that it was right for her.

Suddenly Jasper felt a vibration in his pocket and realized it was his phone. He took it from his pocket and felt a surge of panic as he saw a text message from Alice. He looked from the small ring in his hands to the name on the phone. He looked around, afraid that Alice might show up out of nowhere and see what he had been shopping for. Did Edward accidentally rat him out to her? With some trepidation, he opened the message and read.

Hey, sweetheart. Edward told me that you're shopping for something for me right now. I'm not going to spoil the surprise, but I just want you to know that whatever it is you'll get me; I love it already. I'll see you soon. Love you.

Jasper stared at the text at a loss for words. After all the years they spent with each other, she always gave him a reason to love her even more everyday. He couldn't know if Alice knew what he was doing, but he did know that when he would finally give her the ring, the look on her face would be more than he could ever have hoped for. Jasper wanted to propose to her in the most perfect way possible; but he knew that ring or not, he would marry Alice, even if it meant making Emmett a priest and asking him to marry them.

He looked back at the ring in his hands. Just a few seconds ago, he had seen a plain jewel set on a gold band. It had nothing particularly extraordinary on the surface, but as he stared into its crystal facets, he felt the exact same way he had when he saw the words Alice typed. He knew that whether or not there was a priest or a church, he would have Alice for eternity. Suddenly he couldn't imagine a ring that was more perfect than the one he held in his hands.

He took the ring to the counter and handed it to the woman.

"It's beautiful," she gave another smile as she packaged it. "You know I've had this ring for a while. I was beginning to think nobody would find it."

As she brought him the small leather box, he realized that the ring's story was not unlike his own. He didn't know how long he would wait until someone found him. And Alice did. "Things are always found in the end."

As he left the shop, he kept one hand over the leather box in his pocket. He took it out and looked at the ring once more. In it, he saw his whole life before him. He threw away his memories of his past self and looked ahead of him. He cast away his worries of whether he would propose in a lit garden or in their cabin. He suddenly felt the urge to hear her voice. He took out his cellphone and dialed her number.

"Jasper?"

"Hey. There's something I need to know. What's your favorite color?"

"What?" she laughed.

"Just tell me," he smiled.

"Blue," she continued to laugh. "What's gotten into you?"

He held the ring in his hand. He had waited five years, and he wasn't going to wait any longer. Throwing everything he knew into the wind just as he did when he took her hand in Philadelphia, he spoke. "I want you to prepare your stuff. I have something special planned for you tonight."