When Esme arrived back at the house, she was unsurprised to see all of her children in the living room. She felt Jasper immediately turn to hide his face in her neck, making a pitiful noise that reminded her of a wounded animal. Immediately she started hushing him, murmuring words of comfort.

"Mommy." Came the shaky whisper. Small whines came out of his mouth, and his grip on her tightened.

"Mommy's here sweetheart. It's alright now." She soothed. The whimpers didn't stop. She stroked his hair gently, trying not to startle him.

"Mommy." He whimpered again.

"What is it, sweetheart? You have to tell Mommy what you want. Use your words." She coaxed. The whimpers turned to sobs, and he spent a few minutes wailing into her neck. She went upstairs and shut the bedroom door as his wails slowly died down.

"What's got you so upset, baby?" She asked gently. He sniffed, an unnecessary but effective gesture.

"I want Jack." He said between sobs. She pulled the beloved bear out and handed it to him, sensing this was only a portion of his problems. He squeezed the bear tightly and let out another sob. Esme planted a kiss on the top of his head.

"What's got my sweet baby boy so upset?" She tried again. Jasper tried to think of an answer, but came up short. His emotions were taking over, and he hadn't the slightest clue what to do about it. Upset, frustrated, and still crying, he stuck his thumb in his mouth, trying to find some peace.

As soon as he did that, Esme was reminded of another present she had for him. She was about to tell him she'd be right back when she saw the look on his face. It was so scared and terrified that it was almost too much to bear.

"Sweetheart, do you want to come to Mommy's office? I have a present for you." Rubbing his eyes against nonexistent tears, he nodded. She lifted him up and got to the office, where she sat him down on her chair, while she reached under the desk to pull the tub out from it. Jasper's eyes widened a bit at the size of the tub. His present was in there? Esme shuffled through the tub a bit before she finally found what she was looking for. She put everything back where it was, storing the trunk under the desk, before taking the little package and picking Jasper up to take him back to his room.

She handed him a small cardboard package and gestured for him to open it. Though it was a bit of a struggle, (his thumb didn't leave his mouth) he finally got the package open, and was mildly surprised at what he found.

It was an adult sized pacifier.

He didn't even know things like that existed. He wasn't necessarily surprised that they did, but the concept seemed... Foreign. He looked up at her curiously.

His expression blared the confusion she was sure he felt, so she pulled it out of the package and held it up to him. "Mommy loves you very much, but she wants something a little healthier than thumb sucking to be a habit." She would much rather have something she could clean and sterilize than have him sucking his most likely dirty thumb. The thought gave her chills. "If you don't like it you don't have to take it. It's something I thought we could try." He nodded, consenting, still keeping his thumb locked firmly in his mouth. It was the only thing keeping him from crying. "Do you mind if Mommy goes downstairs for a few minutes to clean this for you?" She asked, quietly. "If you need me to stay I'll stay." He mumbled a soft "okay." Before sticking his thumb back in his mouth and sucking as hard as he could to try and keep himself together. Esme went into the kitchen, shuffling a few pots and pans before she found a small pot. She filled it three quarters of the way up with water, then put it on the highest heat to get it to boil faster. When she got a rolling boil going, she dropped the small object into the hot froth until she deemed it sterile. Taking it out, she poured the water back in the sink, cleaned out the pan, put it away, and ran back upstairs. When she entered the room, she felt Jasper's anxiety, but saw it lift when she entered the room.

"There's my sweet boy." She crooned, sitting on his bed. He crawled into her lap automatically- it was second nature now.

"Are you ready?" Slowly, carefully, he pulled his thumb from his mouth and opened it a little bit so that Esme could put the pacifier in. At first he couldn't quite get the rhythm right, but once he did, it felt natural. His shoulders relaxed and for the first time that day he smiled.

"Do you like it?" She asked, hopeful. He nodded vigorously. He pulled the pacifier out for only a second to say,

"Tank you, Mommy." Before popping it back in. She smiled at the words that could very well have come from a two-year-old, but instead came from her sweet son.

"You're welcome, sweetheart." She said as she stroked his hair. The little thing was all white with what looked to be a baseball in the middle. When she saw it online she knew she had to have it for him. It was just too perfect. He cuddled into her sweetly, setting his head in her lap and shutting his eyes. It was peaceful. A wonderful kind of peace that had been so foreign to him. Here his emotions weren't jumbled at all, and neither were his thoughts. It was a place of serenity that he'd searched for for a long time. Now that he had it, he was finally able to be himself. He was finally free.