A/N: Sorry this chapter took so long, real life has happened in a big way as of late and I don't like to post something that I'm not sure about. After much tweaking this feels like it will work. Hope you like it!!!!! And if you do then review!!!!

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, and although I love SM's characters I can't take credit for them.

She was running, faster than she'd ever run before, and she still felt like she would never get there. With a sense of panic she kept looking over her shoulder and behind her she could see thousands of orange and red fingers reaching out to grab her, brushing against her clothes and searing at her skin…

"Help!!!!!!!" Alice sat up in bed, her cries for help echoing through the little apartment. She tried to calm her breathing as she realized that it was just another dream, just another morning. She collapsed back into her pillow and sighed as she realized that she had woken up just minutes before her alarm was scheduled to go off.

She raked her fingers through her hair as she laid there thinking about the dream. Part of her wondered if the dreams did indeed mean anything or if they were just nonsense. Another part of her hoped that they were definitely the past, because the one dream of Jasper was obviously a prediction, not a memory. She did not want to think about all these horrid dreams being a prediction of what was to come.

After the alarm finally beeped she dragged herself to the shower and managed to dress and do her hair and makeup. She really didn't want to go to work. In fact she was dreading it, for no actual reason beside the fact that it was a boring job.

The first half of her shift she spent wondering what she and Jasper would be doing this weekend. She knew he wanted to see her, but they hadn't detailed any plans or anything. She realized that she didn't even know for sure that she'd see him tonight, considering he might get into town fairly late.

As she waited on customers she daydreamed about all the romantic dates they could go on. Picnic in the park, romantic movies, candlelit dinner, shopping at the mall…

"Alice I hate to tell you but shopping at the mall is not a romantic date." Said a deep voice. She looked up to see Jacob Black standing in her line with 2 submarine sandwiches and bags of chips. He was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt, looking all sweaty.

"Oh! Did I say that out loud?!" Alice was mortified. Jake was a good friend of Bella's and someone that Bella had actually tried to date at one time, and although she knew him fairly well she was still embarrassed by the idea of sharing her daydreams verbally.

"Relax Alice, all I heard was the last line. Why are you planning a romantic date with me anyway?" Jake's grin was huge and she could tell he was actually trying to flirt with her.

Wow, when it rains it pours men. First I can't even get a date and now I've been flirted with twice in one week.

"Oh Jake, you know I could never date my best friend's ex!" Alice admonished. She wasn't lying. Jacob was a great guy and nice looking enough but she could never date someone who had any sort of history with Bella. It just wasn't something she was comfortable with.

"I suppose it would be bad for me to date Bella's best friend… so if you're not planning a date with me, who do you have on your mind little pixie?" Alice couldn't argue with the pixie comment. Jacob towered over her by at least a foot if not more.

"Oh, just some guy that I met recently." She answered. "I'm not really planning a date with him either, I was just thinking of potential date ideas if you really must know."

Jake grabbed his grabbed his bag of groceries and grinned at her knowingly. "You're blushing an awful lot over just some guy. Don't worry, I'll ask Bella who he is and she'll fill me in."

Alice couldn't help but laugh because she knew he was right.

"Well, I gotta go home and shower, I've been working out and I need to get cleaned up and eat my sandwiches before MY big date tonight." Jake said as he walked around the end of her cash register to give her a hug. As he closed in she could smell him, and it was rancid.

"Ew Jake, you smell like a wet dog! Don't you dare try to hug me!" She said it playfully but she wasn't kidding, he did smell awful.

He laughed loudly and winked at her as he walked out.


After work Alice drove home, thankful that it was still light outside. The leaves on the trees were changing colors and they offset the green from the pines in a beautiful fashion. She found herself being thankful that her new life was in such a stunningly gorgeous area of the country.

She walked into her apartment and immediately changed her clothes and curled up on the couch with her phone. Ok Alice, this is it. Time to be brave.

She dialed the number and waited while holding her breath. When he didn't answer she became nervous and realized she'd have to leave him a message. The voicemail picked up and beeped.

"Hi Jasper, it's Alice.. um. I was just wondering when you'd be getting into town tonight, if you had any plans or whatever. You can call me back please, I mean if you want to. Thanks, Bye"

She rolled her eyes at herself as she hung up the phone. She figured that he was probably driving and couldn't answer his phone right away, so she decided to make dinner. It didn't look like he'd be arriving any time soon so she thought it would be a good idea to eat before he arrived or at least get the food ready. Don't worry Alice, he'll be here soon!

Since it was so cool and rainy outside it seemed like a day for a bowl of chili so she started browning some ground beef and onions. She threw them into a pot with tomatoes, beans and a couple of hot peppers and some seasoning and started to simmer the mixture. Cornbread was a favorite of hers so she mixed up the ingredients for that also. She was just dumping the batter for cornbread into a pan when her phone rang.

"Hello Jasper!" She sang cheerily.

"Hello Alice!" He answered. "How was your day darlin?"

"It was good." She replied "Are you on the road?" She placed the cornbread in the oven and went to stir the chili.

"Well, sort of. I'm in your driveway."

She panicked, running to her living room window to look out. "Jasper! I didn't think you'd be here this early! I mean, I didn't even know if I'd see you tonight!" She exclaimed nervously. As she talked she rushed to the mirror to check her hair and makeup.

"Well sweetheart I could always go away for a while if I'm too early for you." His drawl was thick and she could tell that he was joking.

"No! I mean, of course not. Come on up." She was putting lip gloss on when she heard her door open. She clicked her phone closed and came running out.

"Hi!" she said, almost embarrassed at the size of her grin.

"Don't I even get a hug?" He smirked at her. "I mean, I did just drive seven and a half hours to see you the least you could do is hug me."

She shyly walked over and stood on her tip toes to wrap her arms around his neck. It felt entirely too natural and it felt like was a million little sparks in every spot that their skin was touching. She went to pull away but it was clear he wasn't letting go yet so she started telling herself to relax and buried her face in his chest. She could feel him exhale and release a sigh.

"Something smells delicious… did you make us dinner?" He asked as he finally unwrapped his arms from around her.

"I did. I mean, you don't have to eat it if you want something different. We can always go somewhere. It's chili and cornbread, if you don't like it, it's ok.." She stopped rambling when she realized that he was smirking at her again.

"I've always wanted a girlfriend who could cook." He walked to the stove and lifted the lid on the chili, inhaling its spicy aroma. "And I'm from Texas Alice, of course I like chili."

She was just standing there speechless about his use of the word girlfriend. Was that a hint that he wanted HER for a girlfriend? Or was it just random use of the word? Did it mean she had a good chance of being a girlfriend candidate? Were there other candidates? Oh but her head was spinning.

"Alice?" He looked at her, concern written all over his face.

"Huh?" she looked at him blankly.

"Are you ok?" She could hear the concern in his voice but for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. Then she looked down and realized she had been shivering uncontrollably while she'd been lost in thought.

"OH! Yes! I mean, Yes, I'm fine." She tried to reassure him. "I'm just a little nervous that's all." She started setting the table for dinner, and she realized that she had never actually entertained company at her little apartment. She had cooked for Bella of course, but she had never really been much of a hostess because Bella was her family.

As she was pondering all this she realized Jasper had been staring at her intently. She flushed as she became aware of his attention. He smiled and just turned to stir the chili. Good gravy Alice, how on earth are you going to be able to carry on some sort of relationship with a man if you can't even handle him looking at you? If he tries to be intimate you'll probably turn into a zombie.

She was shocked out of her thoughts by the oven timer ringing. She used an oven mitt as she pulled the cornbread out and grabbed a knife to slice it with. As she was doing this her eyes drifted back to Jasper and she realized that he had been dishing out chili and was now foraging through her refrigerator. "Got it!" he exclaimed victoriously as he pulled a stick of butter out.

She fought back a giggle at his enthusiasm and instead grabbed the butter dish off a shelf and handed it to him. He took it with a smile and finished up setting everything on the table.

As they sat down to eat together they talked about his classes. She was deeply interested in his studies, mainly because they were something that Jasper seemed deeply interested in. She listened intently as he told her about a paper he was finishing on the Civil War. She decided that Jasper could tell her about a boulder and for some reason it would be the most intriguing story ever.

"So you like history?" he asked hesitantly, obviously trying to decide if he had been boring her with his conversation.

"Well.." she said as she took a sip of water, "I like to learn about pretty much anything." It wasn't a lie. She did enjoy learning. "Plus, it's fun to hear you talk about it. It's obvious how fascinating it all is to you. It must be nice to be an expert about something, to have that sort of specialization."

"And you don't have anything that you are enthusiastic about? Nothing that you excel at?" She could hear the doubt in his voice.

"Not really. I'm more of a generalist. I like to learn some about everything, but there's nothing that I would say I'm an expert at." She tried to make her answer sound a little less pathetic than it was. "But I've tried to fill my new life with learning so perhaps someday I will."

"Alice I have to say that you're probably wrong. I happen to know that you're an expert at making chili. You're also incredibly talented as a writer." Something about his tone startled her, the air of confidence in it.

"But you've never read any of my stories." Alice said pointedly.

"Well, I'm assuming they must be excellent or they wouldn't be published." His words seemed honest but his expression read differently. She sensed that he wasn't being completely honest, and it stressed her some but she was determined to shake that worry off. What harm would it be if he had found a way to read her stories? In the age of internet, she was sure he could look them up online somewhere. Besides Alice, you know that if he had some sort of historical article published you would have stalked him and found a way to read it too.

"Did you get enough to eat?" She changed the subject, the relief on his face not going unnoticed.

"Yes, definitely. It really was delicious Alice, and I should know, I've had a lot of chili in my life." His drawl, combined with the prize winning smile he flashed her, made her knees melt.

He helped her clean up the mess and joined her at the sink as she took care of the dirty dishes. For some odd reason, doing dishes wasn't nearly as much of a chore with Jasper Hale there for company.

When they finished he suggested that they go for a walk. The rain had stopped and although it was chilly it did seem like a great idea to her, particularly because the fresh air might give her the bravery she would need to finish this date… especially if he planned on kissing her.

Jasper took her hand as soon as they walked outside and together they strolled down her street. She laughed out loud when they passed a jogger, the same jogger that had made her so paranoid when she had watched him from her window.

"What's so funny?" Jasper looked at her curiously.

She hesitated, but then explained her conversation with Carlisle and how nervous it had made her.

"Well he's right, it's probably best to be cautious." He looked thoughtful. "You're probably nervous for nothing though, I mean if someone had wanted to hurt you they would have done it before they dumped you in the alley right?" Jasper had a point. If she wasn't prowling about looking for clues to her past then she'd probably have nothing to worry about.

But then there was the part of her that wanted to investigate her past. And that part knew that she could easily provoke whoever it was that knew her true identity. She shivered as she thought of the possibility.

Jasper must have felt her unease because he tightened his grip on her hand as they turned the corner and stopped in front of a huge pine tree. He grabbed her other hand and looked down at her.

"You do realize that I would never let anything bad happen to you right? I know I'm not here all the time but if at any time you decide you want to try to find out more about your past, make sure I'm with you okay?" Alice nodded her head in response. "Alice, I mean it, don't go digging around for clues by yourself. Do you understand?" There was seriousness in his face, a look of pain even. "I understand why you want to find out more but under no circumstances should you do it by yourself."

"I, um, I understand." She answered. But in truth she didn't. She was completely confused. Jasper seemed very concerned, overly concerned. Alice didn't have a lot of experience with relationships but she was fairly sure that after just a couple dates it wasn't normal to volunteer to be a girl's personal defender.

Jasper sighed and pulled her in for a hug. "I know this probably doesn't make a lot of sense to you. I just.. I just don't want anything bad to happen to you. I care about you Alice. I know that I haven't known you very long but I feel like I am supposed to be with you. It just feels… It just feels right." With that he let go and they continued their walk.


Alice was startled when she woke, but not scared. She hadn't been dreaming, which she realized was a good thing when she noticed that she had fallen asleep in Jasper's arms. He shifted on the couch when he realized she was awake.

"Hey there darlin! You didn't even catch the second half of the movie." He chuckled as he watched her rub her eyes and yawn.

"What time is it?" She asked as she squinted at the clock. They had talked over coffee after their walk and then started watching The Godfather, which Jasper claimed was a movie that everyone should watch at least once.

"It's just after midnight." He stretched his arms and sat forward in his seat. "I can go now, I know it's late and you probably have to work tomorrow."

"Oh, no I took the weekend off since you were co.." She stopped herself in midsentence. "I mean, no I don't have to work tomorrow."

Jasper grinned at her, obviously realizing what she had almost blurted out. Great job Alice, way to play hard to get!

"Well.. I could stay here. I mean, if you don't mind. It's rather late to be surprising the Cullens as an overnight houseguest anyway." He trailed off.

Alice jumped to her feet, and stood there gaping. Oh I am so in over my head here, I have no idea what to do with a man! I'm not ready for this! What if he freaks out and leaves? What if I freak out and throw up right in front of him? I haven't even been naked in front of a male doctor! Oh no, Oh no, Oh no… She felt the room start to spin around her and before she realized it she was falling.

"Alice!!!! Alice stay with me!!!" Jasper ordered, with so much authority that she felt drawn back into reality. She realized that she had almost fainted for the second time because of the man of her dreams.

"I'm here. I'm here." She faltered and felt tears start to spill over from her eyes and she cursed herself for being such a child and turned away from him, which didn't exactly work because he was basically carrying her in his arms at this point. "I'm fine."

"For heaven's sake Alice, what was that about?" Jasper scolded, clearly upset. "You scared me half to death. What happened?"

"I just don't know if I'm ready for this. I.." She cleared her throat and blurted out the rest. "I've never had sex before and I'm so sorry but I don't know if I can do this!" And the dam broke, tears flooded from her eyes as she sobbed "I'm so sorry! I thought I could be normal, I thought it would work.. I don't know what I was thinking!" She buried her face in his shirt, wishing she could be anywhere but there, mortified that she had just ruined what seemed to be so perfect.

Underneath her face she felt him exhale a deep breath, and then heard him chuckle. Oh spectacular Alice, not only did you prove what a child you are, you gave him something to laugh about. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

"Alice look at me." Jasper said in a soothing, yet still amused voice. She couldn't bring herself to move. She felt him walk back towards the couch and sit down with her in his lap. He reached down and cupped his hand around her chin and forced her to look up. "Please open your eyes."

She took a deep, ragged breath and opened her eyes to find him looking directly into them.

"Alice Swan, I did not intend to have sex with you tonight. I happen to be much more of a gentleman than that. As attracted to you as I am, and let me assure you I am extremely attracted to you, I am fully aware that we are not on that level yet. I would never want to rush something like being intimate with you." He stroked her cheek as he spoke, his voice soothing every tear away.

"When you are ready, truly ready, then we will have sex. Until that day I will be content just spending time with you. Is that alright with you?" He gazed at her, obviously expecting a verbal reply.

"Yes Jasper. Um, thank you." Once again her conversational skills failed her, but he seemed relieved anyway and smiled a huge smile at her.

"Now that we have that straightened out, do you want me to leave or stay?" He asked while still holding her on his lap.

Alice thought about the question carefully. If he really didn't expect sex then she couldn't see any harm in it. In fact, she really didn't want to think about how lonely she'd feel without his arms around her at this point. It just felt so perfect.

"I want you to stay." Her hand ventured up to his neck and she rubbed the little scar that was shining in the light of the tv. "I want you to stay with me. I mean, if you want to."

Jasper smiled the sweetest smile that any man could possibly smile. "It would be my pleasure to spend this night with you in my arms." He let her slide off his lap. "I'm going to go down and get my bag."

Alice darted to her room, changing as quickly as she could into a tank top and pajama pants. She glanced quickly in her mirror and gasped when she saw the after effects of her crying episode. Her skin was blotchy and her eyes were puffy.

"You look beautiful, as always darlin'." Jasper's deep voice rang from the doorway to her room. He had already changed into a pair of gray sleep pants that hung dangerously low on his hips. And he was shirtless. Oh Lord Alice, what on earth have you gotten yourself into? There's no way you're going to be able to sleep with THAT laying next to you!

"I locked the outside door, and I turned off the tv. Is there anything I missed?" He asked cocking his head to one side as he slowly crossed the room to her. She shook her head no, mostly because she was afraid that anything that popped out of her mouth would have some reference to his tanned body. He grabbed her hand and led her to the bed, letting her pick which side she wanted first before climbing in after her.

She was so grateful that he seemed content to just lay there with her head on his shoulder in silence for a bit. For a minute she thought he must have fallen asleep but when she looked up at him she realized he was wide awake. He smiled at her and ran his fingers through her hair.

"You're so pretty, even after a mini anxiety attack. And I'm so glad that you're mine." He leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "You are mine right?" He seemed to think as an afterthought.

"I am yours" She said as her heart smiled inside her.