Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Twilight Series. That belongs to Stephenie Meyer.
A/N Sorry it took so long to update. I had family at my house all weekend and I'm kinda sick, so that is why you are getting a longer chapter. I felt bad for leaving you hanging all weekend. So, I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 8
The drive to Alaska had gone by too fast. I savored my alone time with Jasper. It felt like we never got enough of it. With the family being so close and with all the work that we had done to get the hospital going it seemed like we were never alone anymore. We talked about the family, we talked about our plans for the future. During the ten years that I have been with Jasper I learned so much more about him. Yes, he was quiet, but he was also outgoing when it was just the two of us. I learned about the struggles he fought against. He still had some difficulties with our diet, but he never cheated and he still hasn't lost his focus.
In these past few years I had also learned about myself. I was capable of opening up to people and letting myself depend on them more. The thing that I had gained most was the idea of my own worthiness. I meant something to people. To my family I was their sister, their daughter, a friend, and a confidant. I no longer felt like an outsider with them, I was the heart. With Jasper I had found that I could talk to him about anything without having to censor myself. I could be honest about my feelings, I never had to hide my fears, and I didn't worry that he would leave me because he was a part of me. We kept each other together and had fixed the holes that wouldn't heal.
We pulled into the driveway of our house in Alaska. The house was probably not even ten minutes away from Tanya's. Alice was nearly jumping up and down with excitement because she was finally able to get out of the car. I pulled the luggage out of the car and we carried it upstairs to our bedroom. I loved this room. Jasper had picked out the majority of the décor for this room. It has his personal stamp on everything. It was very modern and done in black and tan. One side of the wall were rows and rows of our books, and the other walls showcased pictures, Cd's, movies, a couch and our bed. We had a large walk in closet as well as a connected bathroom. His pride and joy had been the plasma television that rose out of a trunk at the foot of our bed. I personally didn't care about it, but Jasper loved having something that Emmett did not. We pulled the clothing out of the bags and hung them in the closet together. When that was done we walked hand in hand down stairs to join everyone in the living room.
A few minutes later Rose, Esme and Alice came down the stairs with their arms full of boxes. I felt like I was missing something. I looked closer at the labels and say that they were named Christmas Decorations. I laughed. Time had really gotten away from me. We had generally spent the holidays traveling. I pulled my cell out of my pocket to check the date. Christmas was in just a few days. I was shocked. There were so many things I needed to finalize on the gifts that I had picked out for my family. My concentration was broken when I heard Rosalie and Emmett arguing about Christmas lights. Rose wanted all white and Emmett wanted blinking multi colored ones. We took a vote and the white ones came out on top.
Jasper and Will sat in the corner sorting out the strings and making sure that each bulb was lit. It was a good thing that they were vampires because the chore would have been tedious without our enhanced abilities. I remember Charlie's annoyance every year at Christmas with the lights. He would get them all strung up on the house and then they would always go out. Half wouldn't blink, or half of them would go out as soon as he flipped the switch to turn them on. I smiled at the memory and turned to help pull the rest of the decorations out.
About six hours later the house had been transformed into a winter wonderland. White shimmering lights lined and cascaded along the roof. It was simply stunning to see it reflecting on the pure newly fallen snow. There were candles in all the windows making the house look warm and inviting. The banisters were wrapped in ivy with a large red bow tied around the top of the poll on the last stair. Across the fireplace mantle Esme had draped boughs of holly and ivy and nestled candles into them as well. The only thing missing was the tree. Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle and Will all argued over where they should go to get it. It was funny because we all knew that Alice had already seen the perfect tree and where they would go to get it. With the decorations up we planned on taking a trip together to get everything that we would need for the tree.
Emmett plugged the television and DVD player in. Rose flitted over and popped in a movie. I snuggled into Jasper's lap on the floor and pulled a blanket over us. We watched as Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye pulled their pants up and danced to the sister song. This prompted Will and Emmett to stand up and do a perfect impersonation of them. It was just too funny to watch. The snow was falling hard when the movie ended and I stood up with Jasper to tell the family goodnight. We had reached the staircase when he pulled me up to him and crushed his lips against mine. I was surprised by his burst of affection and pressed my lips closer into his. He laughed when he pulled away from me. He pointed his forefinger up to the ceiling and I saw the reason for his kiss. Mistletoe! This was going to be one very enjoyable holiday.
Alice burst into our room and seven the next morning and started trying to push us to get ready. She ran into the closet and started ripping out clothes for the both of us. Jasper rolled his eyes and went into the bathroom to shower. Alice danced out of the room with dire warnings if were to take more than twenty minutes to get downstairs. I pulled on the outfit she had picked out for me. Dark blue jeans, a white turtleneck, and black heels. I was running a brush through my hair as Jasper came out of the bathroom with a towel slung low around his hips and another towel rubbing vigorously in his hair. I looked over at him and just stood there admiring his perfect form. He laughed and pulled me down to the bed on top of him. After ten years, I still hadn't gotten used to his perfection. I leaned my lips down to his and wound my fingers in his golden hair. He ran his hands down my back and I shivered in anticipation. I could feel the desire tugging at me when Alice's voice started pounding in my ears. "I can see what you are doing and unless you want to deal with me..." Her voice trailed off as I sat up. I watched him dress quickly and grabbed my purse and coat.
We pilled into two cars. Esme, Rose, Alice and I in my car and the boys with Carlisle. Esme decided that she would be the one to drive. We turned onto the interstate and in no time we pulled up in front of a massive mall. I had thought really hard about my gifts this year and was surprised that I really wouldn't need to get anything from stores. They were all very meaningful. The only things that I would have to buy would be the gifts for Tanya and her family. I reached out for Jasper's hand and we descended into a world of artificial snow, sale signs, and muddy floors.
A few hours later we emerged from the mall and said went to pick up the decorations for the tree. Jasper and Will came with us and Carlisle and Emmett went to get the tree. Esme drove us to a Christmas shop filled with every kind of ornament imaginable. We had decided to do the tree in white, red and silver. We all hunted for to find the decorations that would make the tree stunning. Jasper and I picked up varying sizes of crystal snowflakes and opaque white and red ornament balls. When we got to the register every one had baskets laden down with items. Esme was bogged down with six very large, but beautiful wreaths and more packages of Christmas lights. Emmett was following behind her with several boxes full of what looked like blow up Santa's, sleighs, snowmen, and reindeer. Rose was standing beside him with a small box that contained a pump that would be used to blow them up. Alice and Will walked in next. You could barely see her face it was covered up with stockings, stocking holders, gift wrap, bows, spools of ribbon, lights, garland, bells of assorted sizes, candy canes, candles. There was so much of it I gave up trying to figure out what she had.
We got home to see Emmett and Carlisle putting the tree up in the front living room. We opened all the boxes and got to work on making our tree. When it was finished Esme pulled out a large crystal snowflake and handed it up to Carlisle on the ladder. He placed the topper perfectly center and stepped down and pulled his wife into his arms. He turned and looked at all of us sitting together and whispered Happy Holidays to us.
That night the snow had fallen hard so Emmett challenged us to a snowball fight. I still hated the snow, but with my change it didn't really bother me as much, especially since I couldn't feel the cold. We all wrapped up in jeans, sweaters, coats and shoes and headed out the door. The epic snow battle started almost immediately. I ducked behind a tree and made my way up. I saw my target. His blond hair stood out against the snow. I prepared my weapons carefully and launched one after another at his back. Jasper was so caught off guard by my attack he missed his chance to attack Emmett. He sauntered over to my tree and looked up through the branches until he caught sight of me. I heard a deep growl come from his chest. Before I could even blink he pulled me down and I landed hard bottoms first into the snow. He jumped on top of me and proceeded to bury me under a mountain of white snow. He was laughing. "Bella, my love. You might want to keep your mouth shut. Who knows what may have been in this stuff." I heard his words clearly and starting spiting and clawing my way out. I felt the snow lift off of me quickly and when I was finally able to see I saw Jasper running away from flying snowballs. I looked over the see the culprits and saw Esme and Rose standing their with a bucket of freezing water. I laughed. What cheaters they were. Making ice balls instead of snow balls. When we were finished it was proclaimed that Esme was the clear winner of the battle. Not only was her aim correct, but her clear intellect is what won her the victory. We made our way into the house to settle in for Christmas Eve.
I took a long hot shower after I got inside and pulled myself into a pair of gray pants and a white silk shirt and black ballet flats. I walked down the stairs to join my family in the living room. Alice and Rose were hanging our stockings. They were obviously new, but they were very beautiful. They were each one a beautiful winter white with the first initial of our names stamped on in rhinestones. I sat down next to Jasper and waited for the everyone else to file in. Alice rose up gracefully from her chair and grabbed the few gifts that were under the tree. She handed one to each of us and waited for them to be opened. I pulled the paper off carefully and opened the box. Pajama's. She had gotten each of us a set of them. Jasper and mine were white with an embroidered J and B on the pocket. Carlisle and Esme's pajamas were a deep red with the same embroidery. Emmett and Rosalie's were a deep royal blue. But the funniest thing was that Alice had bought them for her and Will as well. He pulled his out of the box and his smile instantly fell away. He pulled the offending garment out of the tissue paper and held it out in front of him. Hot pink. The entire room collapsed into laughter. Alice looked around innocently and shrugged her delicate shoulders. "It is entirely appropriate to have pink pajamas. Besides, it's my favorite color." We said goodnight and went upstairs to celebrate in our own way.
The morning was bright even though it was still snowing outside. The sun glittered across the snow as it peeked in and out from behind the clouds. We all came down in our pajamas that Alice had gave us the night before. Will obviously still hadn't gotten over wearing pink, which subjected him to a whole new round of jokes from Emmett. Esme glared over at them, daring them to continue with their silliness on Christmas. "Boys, don't make me get up and make you stop." Emmett looked up sheepishly at her her. He looked like a child caught with his hands in the cookie jar. "Sorry Mom" Their voices sounded in unison.
I helped Rose sort the presents out. Carlisle being the oldest and the head of the family opened his first. A new watch from Esme was his first gift. He had received a set of new golf clubs from Alice and Will. Airline tickets from Emmett and Rose, and a painting of Esme that Jasper had commissioned a couple of months previously. He opened my gift last. I had spent weeks trying to find exactly what I wanted. He opened the small box and pulled out a little metal tag. I had taken it to get engraved not long after I purchased it. It was a name tag for his white coat. It wasn't much, but I didn't think that mattered. He got up from his chair and hugged each one of his children and told us thank you.
Esme opened next. From Carlisle she had gotten a set of delicate jeweled hair combs. She jumped up instantly from her chair and thanked her husband. She was talking so fast I could barely make out what she was saying. I got clips of it though. Something about wanting them for so long and how did you ever convince them to sell them to you. I smiled, knowing that she was happy. She opened up a beautiful short sleeve gray Marni dress from Jasper. From Emmett she opened up the box for a brand new tiny silver cell phone. Alice, Will and Rosalie had gotten her a gift certificate to some boutique in Paris, and from me she pulled out a thin silver chain with E dangling from it. The initial was made up of each of our birthstones. She put her hand to her chest and said thank you. When she was finished the rest of us decided to open our gifts. I had gotten a pair of boxing gloves from Emmett, a Louis Vuitton Mahina bag from Alice and Will, tickets to London from Rose, they were to be used for the two of us to go away for a week in case of emergency like Emmett getting on her nerves. From my parents I had received a white lab coat with my name embroidered on it. I smiled my thanks to them and started handing out the rest of the presents I had gotten everyone.
Handing my gift to Alice she smiled and told me I shouldn't have. I looked at her like she was crazy and it dawned on me that she had seen what I had gotten her when I had decided to purchase it. She pulled the tiny bracelet out with the tiny pixie that danced on the chain and pulled me into her excited embrace. To Emmett I had gotten tickets for the two of us to go to the Leipzig Game Convention in Germany. I knew he loved to play, so I thought that he would really enjoy it. Of course I did tell him that I thought Rose really wanted to go and that it would be fine with me if he preferred her to go. She shot me a dark look and kicked me in the shin. When it came time to give Will his gift we all gathered around and handed him a small white box. "Will, we all pitched in to get you this. We really hope you like it." He popped the lid off of the tiny box and pulled out a set of keys. He pretty much flew out of the house and into the garage. We followed him happy to see that he was excited. I knew that he had a love for old cars, so I talked to the rest of my family and we all went in together to get him a 1956 Jaguar XK140 Roadster. He opened the door and slid into the seat. He slipped the key in the ignition and it purred under his touch.
While the rest of the family was busy I pulled Jasper back into the house with me and pulled out the box which contained his present. He slid the paper off and pulled back the lid. It was a large leather covered book on the civil war. He ran his fingers over the hard spine and opened the book. "Wow Bella. This is great." He kissed me on the cheek, but I turned my head the other way. "Maybe you should open the book further and then you can really tell me thank you." He rifled though the pages until he came to one that had difficulty turning. Stuck in between the pages was an envelope. He slid his finger under the seal and pulled out a piece of paper. As he read the contents of the letter his face changed with his emotions. "Bella, I don't know what to say. How did you find it?" I smiled at him and touched the paper tracing the letters on it. "Well, I have never known what to get you, and one day it came to me. I know that human memories fade after time, and I wanted to get you something that would bring them back. Esme has helped me go through all the years of ownership until I found the person that owned it. I mean the house is a bit different, but we have tried to restore it to how it looked when you lived there as a child." He looked at the paper in disbelief. I had bought him the house that his family had owned when he was human. The centuries had changed it, but I was sure he remembered it. He pulled me into his arms and lips softly to mine. "Bella, you wonderful, amazing woman. I don't know how to thank you." I just smiled and ran my fingers through his blond hair. "You have thanked me. You have given me your love and that is the greatest gift I could ask for."
The rest of the family filtered back into the room and started going through the things they had gotten. The doorbell rang about twenty minutes later. Tanya's family sailed in through the front door while we were changing. I put on a white empire waisted dress with a silver ribbon that nestled right under my chest and a pair of silver heels. I came downstairs to see if Esme needed any help in the kitchen. We didn't need to eat the food that she made, but it amazing to have the house smell like cooking. Every year she would make the meal and then her and Carlisle would take it to a homeless shelter so that it didn't go to waste. She didn't need my help so she shooed me out the door. I expected her to stay, but she followed me out to the living room where everyone was sitting around the tree.
Jasper was the only one still standing. He came over to me and stood me in the center of the room. He cleared his voice and begged everyone for a minute of their time. He placed his hand in mine and looked into my eyes. "Bella, I can't tell you the joy you have given me these past ten years. I have found contentment and peace in my life. You have held me captive with your warmth and I couldn't imagine living without it. You have given me love and courage. You bring out the best in me. You make my life brilliant with your passion for every single thing that life offers you. You are beautiful and daring. You light up my life with your presence. You are my better half and I want to spend the rest of eternity showing you that I am yours." I watched him slide down to his knee and pull a small black box out of his pocket. He took my left hand in his once again and looked up at me hopefully. "Bella, I will love you always. Please stand beside me for the rest of this life and say that you will be my wife." I felt tears start to slide down my cheeks and I sank down onto the floor next to him. I whispered so that only he could hear. "Yes. Yes! A thousand times yes!" He slid the stunning diamond onto my finger while the rest of our family cheered. We were all so wrapped up in the love that was overflowing in the room that we didn't even hear the door open.
I was instantly assailed with a scent that I hadn't come across in years. He stood there with pain written all over his face. Edward! His cry of anguish was the last thing I saw before it all went dark.
