A/N: Well here we are once again at the end of a story. I hope you enjoyed it and thanks for all you're kind words xx Alexis
Bella
So it has been just over six months now since Carlisle returned from Volterra, bringing Tanya and her new mate Grayson back with him. Luckily everyone was mated, so he had no ill effects on us, well unless making everyone horny for their partners was a drawback. We held the cremation for the rest of Alice's body and everyone got to say their piece and get some sort of closure. Several more vision journals were found in her room, but not ones about us, these were much wider reaching stuff and would be a heads up to future dealings with the Volturi. One was so out there and set way into the future, it looked like Alice finally lost her marbles, so we all read that and well she should have written fiction for a living, amazing stuff.
Carlisle, Tanya and Jasper thought the others would be best destroyed once read by only the leaders, then each coven would know when to act or react in the future. The rest of us were happy not to know what was ahead after all that's what got us all here in the first place. Then it was time for everyone to go their own ways. Charlie went off to Denali, the Cullens were going to Ireland to spend time with Maggie's coven, but would return to see me after my change and Peter and Charlock back to Montana, to get the house ready for Jasper and me arriving early next year.
Jasper stayed with me both here in Forks and in Seattle for college. He was basically using Alice's room, though he spent all his time in mine. Charlie's wedding went off without a hitch and he and Irina went to a more secluded cabin in Alaska for his change. Turned out that wasn't needed as he was beyond controlled, which boded well for me. Thanksgiving came and Jasper helped me organise everything for the girls coming. April was a little surprised by him since they only knew me with Elenore. But Clarissa smiled sagely, saying she'd seen me admire several guys in the past and knew I played for both teams.
They had a great time, loved the weather, but wouldn't want to live with it constantly and I agreed, telling them eventually Jasper and I would end up in Montana, thus setting up the scene for Charlie's death and my leaving Forks. So a week after the Christmas break, I received the tragic news and was obviously devastated. Jasper took charge when I said I wanted to drop out. He told the others to get more people for the student house, but to keep our money anyway, easing their burden even more.
Then he put up my house for rent, packed us up and we got ready to leave for Montana. The surprise was Eric's mum asked to rent out my place and that made it better for Eric with the darkroom already there. I stayed only for the memorial the town had for dad and Sam Uley was there, he nodded, lifting a brow and I inclined my head. No other words were spoken, he knew that was our plan and he accepted it since we would be elsewhere.
Mom and Phil were halfway around the world and although she sent her condolences, they couldn't make it back. She had asked where I was going and that gave me the in to tell her about Jasper and his brother having a ranch in Montana. So by then, it was time for my wedding and change, this I would not be telling my mother, maybe one day down the line. I'll say we did a quickie courthouse one and leave it at that. Dad and Irina came down from Alaska, but besides them, there was only Peter and Char as our witnesses.
Jasper promised me a honeymoon after I gained control of myself and I jokingly said, "Lovely, let's have a road trip! You all think of places you want to see and we'll hit them all!" Little did I know Peter loved the idea and ran with it during my change. His list was totally mad, but hell it would be doable for four vampires. We don't need to sleep, use the facilities or eat even, well not in restaurants.
So far it looks like this, but we can add on as we go because I wanted to show Char, Cottage Grove and those awesome covered bridges. We'd start in Alaska, see dad and the Denali's then begin our road trip.
Alaska: Santa Claus House, build an igloo, Oregon: The Octopus Tree and Cottage Grove, Wyoming: Fossil Cabin, Old Faithful, Jasper says, standing in a geyser can actually heat us up and is a very pleasant feeling.
Kansas: Largest Ball of Twine,
Oklahoma: Cowboy Hall of Fame, Char says there are pictures of Jasper and Peter on a cattle drive from the early fifties, it was one other the first things they did after Jasper escaped. Illinois: Largest Catsup Bottle Water Tower, Char tells me there's an actor who looks strangely like Jasper and he has a tattoo of a ketchup bottle on his leg. I must check him out!
Indiana: Lady Leg Sundial, Peter thought he'd pull the wool over my eyes here and said we had to pose nude with it! Clothes are optional I know this.
Kentucky: The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory, the guys are really excited about this stop. They have all seen some of the most memorable games in baseball history.
Ohio: Frozen Cleveland Lighthouse, but that depends on the weather, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,
Georgia: World's Largest Peanut,
North Carolina: The last Shell Oil Clamshell station, Charlotte's nephew ran one she said. They had checked up on her family and found out what everyone was doing.
Pennsylvania: Shoe House,
New Jersey: Lucy the Elephant,
Maryland: Ouija Board Headstone,
New York: World's Smallest Church, Peter and Charlotte were going to reaffirm their vows there. She said it was because I wasn't there the first time and she wanted me to be part of their special day.
Vermont: Ben and Jerry's Flavor Graveyard, this one was for me Peter said, in case I missed food and these might put me off the idea forever.
As it turned out I'm just like my dear old dad and sailed through the change silently, scaring the crap out of Jasper. So much so he was in full-blown Major mode when I woke and food was not the first thing I got, as per usual changing vampires. Nope, I got angry sex, lots of it, damn you'd think I'd done it on purpose! Let me tell you now, that man was holding back like ninety-nine percent. Vampire sex is Wow! No getting tired, not needing to breathe, it's stopping that's difficult! Hell, it took us two damn good weeks!
I decided to go with the fifty/fifty diet, that meant I could hunt with either Jasper or go with Peter and Char. My bloodlust is not very severe, probably cause I hated it as a human! Carlisle is having to change his stance on that as well because Maggie refuses to give it up completely and is doing the same as me. When we got to Alaska the range of eye colours was amazing. Ranging from bright red to the palest of gold, the in between's were all shades of orange.
Maggie's were light Bronze and Grayson had joined her as he often struggled with this new diet, his were dark Amber. I think it's all to do with what colour they were before the change because even the reds and yellows were not the same on closer inspection. It actually to my mind was better, because that was something I had noticed, how they were all similar, especially since they were not actually related.
All in all, everyone was happy and Kate had called to say she and Heidi were coming for a holiday, so her family could get to know her. Charlie and Grayson had become firm friends, much to Gray's surprise. Men usually disliked him, but Charlie's shield stopped that happening we assumed. Talking of shields, individually ours were good and we could use them on others. But together, holding hands it became a thick rigid barrier, that was hard to see through. That was something we would keep to ourselves, only Jasper and Irina saw it happen and they would tell no one.
Maybe one day we would try it out but not now, now I was taking a road trip with my family and it promised to be full of fun and laughs. Peter was so excited about our visit to Santa's, Jasper laughingly said, "You know he's not real, don't you Peter?" Peter rolled his eyes and floored us by answering, "When I was a human, everyone said, Vampires and Bigfoot were not real! But I am a Vampire and I've met Bigfoot! So...!" We just stood with our mouths open, hell he has a point!
Jasper
I can't believe how lucky I am, not that I deserve it. But I thank the deities for it anyway, Isabella is my everything. Had I been told when Charlie asked for our help, what was to come, I would have laughed in your face. Meetin' Isabella was an eye opener that's for sure and I was drawn to her like the proverbial moth. I never meant to approach her at all on that journey, but she enticed me by her sass and then the smack on my butt sealed the deal. I had to have her if only once and then the sun threw a spanner in the works and I felt like a douche for leavin' her alone.
But her fortitude was amazin', she was sad, yes, but she didn't hate me. Then she worked out Charlie sent me and was mad at him and not me. By the time she got to our house, she knew what I was and didn't seem to care. She actually felt the pull too, I was overjoyed, then I nearly blew it by not tellin' her about myself and she had to deal with my other side. But fear was the last thin' on her mind, she was angry with me and pissed off with him.
With all that shit from Alice, we really should have been more aware, well I had an inklin' all was not well and obviously so did Kate. But we didn't think for a moment she'd be that evil. She was hell-bent on us all bein' as miserable and lonely as her, but not one little bit of it needed to happen if only she'd left me alone. I'd have found Isabella eventually, well Peter would I'm sure. His intuition would have gotten me here, but would I have been the same? I'll never know, maybe that's a good thin'!
So that's why I'm standin' here in Alaska, outside Santa's house! How you ask? Because my new mate and wife decided to indulge my brother, this is her idea! This is what she wanted to do for our honeymoon, a road trip and to brin' Peter and Char with us. The just bounce madness off each other, hell I married a female version of my brother, god help me, but I love them both. Basically, Char and I act as the voices of reason and they ignore us.
Charlotte
Never in my wildest dreams did I think Jasper would end up with someone like Bella. I always imagined his mate would be more like Alice and would hate me. But I have at last got a sister and friend. One who gets my husband loves my brother and has time for me. She's so down to earth, likes the simplistic life we do and never treats us as less than her or common as others have. She's a Whitlock through and through.
I couldn't ask for a better sister to spend eternity with, the only drawback is, she's like Pete's twin, God help us all! I've asked Bella to stand up for me when Pete and I reaffirm our vows, I never got that before, the Major never saw it either. He was still in Maria's clutches after he let us run. Two strangers were our witnesses, but this time it will be family and I'm beyond happy about that.
Peter
The thin' I love most about bein' a vampire, is I can do all the stuff I couldn't as a human. Either because we couldn't afford it or it hadn't been invented yet! That's why we're here at Santa's house, I know it wasn't around when I was a boy, but the idea was and I'd have loved to go to the North Pole. I know he's not real, I just like to wind them up, but it's the idea of him. The joy that just his name conjures up, that's what I like! But up until now no one was prepared to indulge me in my fantastic schemes and ideas. But Jasper's mate Bella, she gets me and she's the same.
I love that about my new sister, her 'Why The Hell Not' attitude. Who else would take their new husbands brother and sister on their honeymoon? Bella that's who! So while the other two watch, we are goin' to see Santa, get our pictures taken and make some happy memories. I love how she's loosened up the 'Major', he laughs more, for her he'll fool around and make an idiot of himself. They are a perfect match and I couldn't be happier for him because he deserves to be happy after all the shit he's put up with.
I wonder if Bella would help me build an igloo? I've always wanted to try that, it's on my bucket list. 'One million thin's to do after you're dead!' It's number Seven hundred and thirty-two, I think!
Bella
This has to be the best idea Peter had, building these igloos, we went further into the snow laden mountains and set to building two igloos. It was a race and now they're complete and due to the fact we don't feel the cold we are having some quiet mate time, Well as quiet as four vampires having sex can be. Is it our fault sound travels? I can't seem to keep my hands off Jasper and he is having difficulty reigning in his empathy, which is a plus for Peter and Char by the sounds of it.
Laying naked on the snow is strange but not unpleasant, we don't really need home comforts we just seem to use them like we would have as humans. The moon is filtering in through the entrance and I'm distracted by the way Jasper glows more than sparkles like me, it's the scars I know, marring the refraction process. but I think it looks good on him, more manly maybe. He sees me staring and before he can get all defensive and self-conscious I tell him how much I love it and him.
He is almost conditioned to dislike his own appearance and the way his nakedness looks. So I spend the next several hours showing how much I like, want and need his glorious body and I can feel his self-esteem rising little by little. If we were alone I'd make him walk around naked all the time. That's a plan for another time I think. For now, I just want to prove to him he's all I will ever need, no one else compares to him in my eyes. He's a good man, that bad things has happened to, but he survived and came out an even better man.
Narrator
So a peaceful time is now ahead for our road tripper and her Pale Rider as well as the three covens. In this their final configuration of four, six and six, with another two attached to the Volturi, they draw no one's attention. But should anyone try to interfere with them ever again, they will become an eighteen strong unit and even the Volturi might find them too tough to subdue. Their greatest strengths are in their diversity, with gifts which range across the spectrum.
Irina, Kate, Tanya and Grayson can use their sexual draw to bring vampires to their knees in a lust filled haze. Heidi can lure enemies to her. Maggie can tell when someone is lying to them. Edward hears any dissent or threats towards them. Charlie can shield them from and distract any threat. Peter know before it happens if troubles on the way. Jasper can empathically incapacitate any who come against them from a distance. Bella can protect them all from any mind games. Eleazar can give them all a heads up on any powers brought against them. So as I said a formidable foe, but only if you threaten them.
Over time it would become more apparent that Bella's mental shield aided the others by working like an amplifier. Charlie's too seemed to distract any interested parties from seeing their potential clearly. But together, father and daughter became a fearsome defence, they could shield minds and bodies to the point of invisibility. Wrapping a cocoon-like barrier around them all, keeping them free from seers, trackers and scenters.
But it would be many years into their forever before these gifts would be needed, in a time of unrest not between the humans and the supernatural's, but from beyond the stars. When it would all come down to survival not only of the fittest but just plain survival of all species on the planet. They would be among those who not only survive but herald in a new age for the vampire and all other nations, out in the open with the rest of the world's inhabitants. But that's another totally different story, for another time.
Vampire Knight Theme (English) I Don't Own Anything by & Bryson Baugus
