A/N: There isn't much I can say, because I'd probably end up spoiler alerting everything in this chapter. I am completely happy with the result, though.
Thanks to MusicTwilighLove and Just4Me for reviewing! I just noticed, that MTL, you've reviewed every single chapter, both here and Twilight Wiki, thanks so much for that! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, that belongs to Stephenie Meyer.
Chapter Nine
Father's Advice
Having Jasper to confide in really helped, he was a good listener. Much better than they gave him credit for. Jasper waited until the walk back down the mountain, after their hunt, until he spoke again.
"Rosalie, don't leave because of something so small," Jasper said, as he took control of her emotions making her feel more rational.
Even with the more rational emotions, Rosalie had still made up her mind. "But, Jasper, I can't live with them anymore. I would have thought, you of all people would back me up on this."
Jasper knew exactly what she was getting at. Bella's eighteenth birthday party, when he gave into his instincts. The blame for having to move on so soon was thrust upon him, for something that wasn't his fault. Ideally, he wouldn't have given into the urges to drain her blood temporarily. Jasper thought about it all the way home, he did understand what Rosalie was saying, but he didn't think it was right for her to just leave like that.
As soon as Jasper and Rosalie walked through the door, Esme greeted them both with a smile and some good news. "Carlilse has come home!" Esme said, happily. In her own mind, things were going well, because her family was coming together again, almost all of them under the same roof.
Jasper realised that Carlisle would listen to him, if he turned to him for help. Being considerate, Jasper decided he would wait, before talking with Carlisle, since he just got home not long ago. Carlisle walked into the living room, from the kitchen, his eyes were as black as coal. He held a cup of blood in his hand, as he talked with Tanya. Carlisle smiled, as his gaze fell on Rosalie.
"I'm glad you found your way back," Carlisle said, letting go of the worry he had felt over her sudden departure. Jasper could feel his worry loosening, but the knot was still very tight, when Carlisle thought of Alice. Guilt had enveloped his worry, because there was nothing he could do to help her.
Jasper decided to let them talk, he walked up the stairs in silence. It wasn't until he had reached the first floor, when he realised Carlisle had followed him. Carlisle followed Jasper into his room, Carlisle was saddened to see that Alice's condition hadn't changed since he left a few days ago. Jasper returned to his place by Alice's side, enveloping her hand with both of his.
"Is there anything you can do for her?" Jasper said, his voice full of concern.
"No," Carlisle admitted. It was a heavy weight on his heart, but he couldn't lie. "If there was something, I would have done it by now."
Carlisle was about to leave the room, when Jasper spoke to him. "Carlisle, if someone swore you to secrecy, but you knew it would hurt a lot of people if you kept it to yourself, would you still keep it a secret?"
"That depends on what kind of secret it was," Carlisle replied. He thought about it for a few seconds, considering whether Jasper was trying to tell him something important or not. "However, if by telling helps that person by only telling those that can be trusted, that could be acceptable."
Jasper took a deep breath. "Rosalie confided in me the reason she left with Emmett," Jasper admitted.
Carlisle remained silent, while Jasper told him about the conversation with Rosalie. Jasper felt bad about betraying Rosalie's trust, but he knew that it would hurt everyone more, if she left with out saying anything. He was sure that Rosalie would forgive him eventually.
Avoiding Emmett, Rosalie sat on the front porch. All she could think about, was all her happy memories with him. To Rosalie, it felt like the biggest mistake they made, was coming to Forks in the first place. Rosalie looked at the thin delicate watch around her wrist, it was almost midnight. Carlisle walked out onto the porch, leaning on the rail. Rosalie glanced up at him to acknowledge him, her gaze returned to the grass on their well kept lawn.
Rosalie assumed that Jasper had told Carlisle, because Carlisle usually spent his nights in his library reading medical journals, not standing on the porch. "You don't have to say anything, I know that you most likely know. Nothing remains secret around here."
"Jasper did confide in me, because he was concerned about you," Carlisle confessed.
"This isn't a sudden irrational decision," Rosalie informed him. "I have thought of nothing else, since the Volturi left."
"Why didn't Edward tell us sooner?" Carlisle asked. He tried to remember if Edward had mentioned it, but nothing sprang to mind.
"Because, he's been so wrapped up with Bella, now that he can read her mind, that he doesn't care about any of us anymore," Rosalie said, bluntly.
Even Carlisle had noticed this was the case, he just didn't want to see Edward, his son, go back to the way he used to be; alone and depressed. "What made you change your mind? You stood by Bella all the way through the pregnancy, even argued us down, when we thought it would be best to abort."
"When we are almost killed by the Volturi because of her existence. I started to think, that if Bella gets to have her happy ever after, with a husband that loves her and a daughter, then why can't any of us?" Rosalie admitted.
"You know why, Rosalie. Vampire women are unable to have children, it is a cruel fate we must all live with," Carlisle said. "It is the price of immortality." Now that he heard Rosalie say it, he remembered that from time to time, he had wondered how life could have been, if Esme was able to have biological children. "Rosalie, leaving because of something we can't change is irrational."
"But, I can change it. I've talked to Tanya and she has agreed, if Emmett won't back me up on it, then I will go back to Denali with her," Rosalie said, standing up. "Carlisle, I don't resent you for changing me. I know you did what you thought was right, and it helped me meet so many people that I hope can stay in my eternal life. I can't pretend I'm happy anymore. There's been a hole in my heart for seventy three years, and I just can't live with it anymore."
Rosalie walked away from the house, to clear her mind. Carlisle didn't follow her. He understood her reasoning, even respected her more for being honest with him, rather than keeping quiet, letting it effect everyone. Carlisle just wished that it were possible for her to get what her heart longed for.
Jasper looked at Alice's pixie like face, hoping that she would awake from this coma, he missed everything about her. He missed the way her lips curved into a smile as she talked. How no matter how low the mood was in any room, to him, just by entering Alice would be like a beacon of happiness and joy. Even how she always had faith in him, never blaming him for his past failures.
Suddenly, he felt Alice's hand squeezing his own, briefly, only for a second. "Alice!" Jasper said, his voice filled with more joy than he'd ever known. "Alice... I'm here. Come back to me.."
Her eye lids fluttered. As her they opened, her coal black eyes met the gaze of his topaz gold ones.
