Jasper didn't expect to see me still lying on the bed when he came out of the shower. I sat up as he pulled on his shirt, watching him button it silently.

"You could wear one of your new Oxfords," I murmured, drawing my knees up to my chest.

He shook his head, water droplets shaking down from his hair. "No, this is fine. I'll wear one tomorrow." I nodded, still not sure he would. Tomorrow wasn't always such a constant when the tomorrows stretched out in an endless line before us.

I longed to reach for him, to bring him close to me like we had been before. Jasper sighed and sat on the bed, not in my arms but still close enough to ease my want. He reached for my hand, and I was surprised at my reaction; where I had usually just been breathless and still, I was now burning with such a deep-seated passion that I was sure Jasper was sending waves of heat my way. He was making me want things I had never thought of before, at least not outside the realm of trashy novels and romance films. Still, with the way Jasper was acting, leaving so quickly, it was almost as if he wanted nothing to do with me after our brief encounters. Perhaps I reminded him of Maria? Perhaps he would become one of those love-and-leave men like he had been with her? I hardly cared, so long as the 'love' part was there. As a vampire, I had never been with a man in that way…and I was almost taken aback that I wanted to so badly.

"So that's how you're feeling, hmm?"

I looked up, surprised at his half-smile. "But I thought you were giving me-"

"No, that's all you," he replied and his smile faded a little. "That isn't to say I don't have these same…feelings. I do, I just…."

He paused, calming his nerves and making me feel settled as well before going on.

"I can't act on them, not yet. I feel as though I've been letting myself become almost too familiar with you. I'm going back to being the hungry beast I once was, and I don't want to be that ever again. You make me thirsty, Alice, and it's not for blood." He looked down and bit his lip. "I shouldn't have said that. It's not gentlemanly."

"Jasper," I murmured, chancing a glance into his eyes, "sometimes I don't want you to be a gentleman."

His eyes blazed for a moment into mine before he looked away. "You are making it very hard for me to be honorable, Alice."

I sighed. If that's the way he wanted it to be…then I could wait. For him. But still, I had to laugh. "Isn't it usually the girl who makes these sorts of requests?"

He smiled, and my heart melted. "Yes, but I won't have you being thought of as a scarlet woman by our hosts because of my desires." He leaned forward to kiss me, quickly, so that nothing should happen as a result.

"You desire me?" I asked, raising my eyebrows in surprise. So he didn't think of me as another Maria?

Jasper laughed loudly. "Alice, are you blind? You're the most captivating woman I've ever met, human or vampire." He stopped to bring my hand to his lips, murmuring against them, "Of course I desire you."

And it's times like this that I know I can wait for him.

It became a group decision to stay through until the first night of the New Year, when we would all leave under cover of darkness. Peter and Charlotte were headed to Canada, Andreas, Grayer, and Bridget to New York, and Jasper and I to heaven knows where. Still living off the dregs of our last hunt, Jasper and I spent most of our time inside of the Newbury Street brownstone, talking about everything and nothing with the other vampires. We sat around the fire during the day, trading stories, and Jasper told about our strange meeting in Philadelphia and adventures in Atlantic City…most of them. Peter told of how he and Charlotte had come through New England to be in Boston. One night, we learned the unfamiliar story of Andreas "birth" a very long time ago in the Côte-d'Armor and of his finding Grayer wasting away in the battlefields of France.

"He was bleeding terribly," Andreas explained, "hit by a shell or something. I had been working for the medics then, where I took it upon myself to, shall I say, put the soldiers out of their misery."

His eyes flared red, and I took Jasper's hand as the story went on.

"When I found him so near death, so pale and delicate and human, I knew I had to change him." Andreas paused, and he and Grayer shared a look that blazed almost as much as the fire.

"And then they came here and found me," Bridget spoke up proudly from her chair next to mine.

Grayer broke his fiery stare with Andreas, chuckling lightly. "Yes, we came to America about ten years after I was changed and ran around the States for a while. We found Bridget a year ago in Washington."

I nodded along with the story of their creations, knowing Jasper would refrain from telling his and that I was unfortunately forced to.

In the meantime, I was put to the task of helping Charlotte put up the Christmas decorations she found in the basement. She put the radio on a cheery station while we trimmed an enormous tree Andreas had nicked from a lot (along with the moneybox he found there), and I tried to smile and not think of whom these heirloom ornaments had belonged to before Peter and Charlotte had gotten their hands on them.

While I was hanging hand-knitted stockings on the mantle late on Christmas Eve for Charlotte to fill, Jasper busied himself in the library, pouring through endless stacks of books. That was where I found him, hunched over a map of the United States.

"Have you decided where we're headed?" I asked, coming up behind him to wrap my arms around his neck and rest my chin on his shoulder.

He dipped his head to kiss my arm. "Not yet. I know we'll be somewhere in the north."

"Why is that?"

"Carlisle and his brood won't be going too near the southern sunlight. And Peter's been hinting at something in the northwest."

"Do you really think I'll be able to survive up there?" I asked with a joking smile. "It's all abandoned wilderness with not an upscale boutique in sight."

"Yes, that's true, but think of all those wild animals…just delicious." He licked the corner of his mouth. "And you'll be with me."

"That's the best part of all," I said and kissed the top of his head. I pulled myself onto the edge of the desk, dangling my legs over the side so that they were a good foot from the floor, and picked up a book from Jasper's stack. I pretended to read the words but was really staring absent-mindedly at a picture of a beautiful dappled pony I found within the pages.

"Do you like horses?" Jasper asked, looking up from his map at me.

I nodded. "To look at, at least. I'd probably be tempted. Too-big animals have too much blood." Jasper laughed heartily but suddenly stopped when I glazed over, a vision slipping into my mind.

Jasper rode up in a blur of dust and hooves on an enormous bay roan-colored mare, jumping off in front of a small ranch-style home. The sun shone brightly, but he stepped without fear, sparkling brilliantly in the abandoned area. Alice ran to the door to greet him, her face ecstatic as she opened her mouth to speak.

As I was shaken back to reality, I realized that whatever it was going to come out of my mouth had been very exciting. Life-changing, even, and I grew slightly disappointed that I hadn't heard it.

"What did you see?" Jasper asked. My visions were growing to be almost commonplace with him.

"You were on a horse," I explained, "at a ranch or something like it. I think that's where we're going."

"A horse?" he repeated, and I nodded.

"I guess I'm going to have to learn to curb my appetite even more," I said with a grin, happy to be going anywhere, even a sunshiny abandoned ranch, as long as Jasper was going too.

My mind flashed with another vision, a quick one of Bridget coming to get us from the library for Charlotte's gift-giving.

"We should go," I said to Jasper, hopping down from the desk to the floor. "Charlotte wants us in the great room for the stockings."

"Time for your gift, then," he said in a teasingly secretive tone.

"I'm looking forward to it," I replied brightly, and Jasper stopped in his tracks.

"You know," he murmured, shocked, and I dipped my head. Of course I knew, I had seen the beautiful ruby pendent before he had even purchased it. I had also seen glimpses of what I would get from the others, but the blank white envelopes befuddled me.

"Oh, Jazz." I put my hand to his cheek, trying to ease away the disappointed look in his eyes. For somebody so in tune with people's emotions, Jasper was very easily read. I hoped he felt the comfort I was trying to send his way.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," he said quietly.

I smiled. "Did you really think you could sneak something that nice around me? You're much too sweet to keep such a secret anyways."

I stood on tiptoe to kiss him just as Bridget entered the library.

"Charlotte says everything's ready," she announced, her red eyes sparkling with anticipation. I wondered if she thought perhaps a fresh human was waiting for her in her Christmas stocking, which, upon our arrival in the great room, seemed quite full but not of humans.

"Good, you're here." Charlotte came bustling over from the glittering monstrosity that was our Christmas tree. "Now we can start."

I sat in the wingback chair Jasper pulled out for me, still wondering a little why Charlotte was so insistent on celebrating this mortal holiday…and then I remembered that presents were involved and smiled. Even though I couldn't remember having ever celebrated this day and even though I usually liked the giving more than the receiving, I was still looking forward to the gifts. I had been so confused by my vision of my presents that I was dying to understand.

"Well, let's go ahead and start this human charade," Peter said, kissing his mate's temple. Once we were all seated, Charlotte began removing the stockings from the mantle, handing them to their respective owners. Mine was rather light, filled with only the two thin paper envelopes. I tried not to feel let-down at my small collection despite having seen it in my vision and carefully opened the first envelope.

"Well, do you like it?" Andreas asked, watching me with careful eyes. I peered at the slip of paper in my hand, unsure of what it meant as various words popped out at me from the page: market, share, exchange.

"I…I'm not sure," I confessed. "What is it?"

Andreas grinned. "It's called a stock. You are now a shareholder in the Newmont gold mine in Carlin, Nevada."

I had heard those terms, stock and shareholder, before, and vaguely knew what they meant: money.

"You can buy more at the stock exchange. The game with stocks is to know when to sell," Andreas went on. "You want to sell them when they're worth the most. After Jasper told us of your talent in Atlantic City, we figured you'd do very well in the stock market."

Jasper could feel me growing more excited and put a calming hand on my knee.

"Thank you," I said once settled. "It's a very thoughtful gift."

"As is yours," Grayer replied, shrugging on his new jacket.

"Oh, Alice, Jasper, this is too much," Charlotte was cooing as she unwrapped her pearl-studded hair comb from its tissue paper.

"Not when compared to this," Jasper replied, waving an envelope similar to my unopened one in the air. I furrowed my brow and opened up my own envelope, taking out the piece of paper and scanning it quickly.

Josephine Bernadette Robinson O'Brien

Born February 3, 1928 in Savannah, Georgia, to

Josephine Marie Boudreaux Robinson (1911 – 1928)

And

Timothy Charles Robinson (1902 – 1947)

Married October 12, 1948 to

Hector William O'Brien

The list went on, giving every bit of information about this Josephine O'Brien, including her blood type, what school she had gone to, and much more. I stared at this second piece of paper, even more confused then when I had opened the first one. What on earth was I doing with this strange woman's life written down in my hands?

"It's an identity, Alice," Jasper explained as the others continued their unwrapping. "It's who we can pretend to be wherever we end up going."

I nodded, halfway understanding. "So we won't be Jasper and Alice anymore?"

Jasper took my hand. "You will always be my Alice. We just have to use these names to get land and live a normal life. People like to check backgrounds, and these names have a background."

"Are they…." I found my throat becoming very parched as I tried to ask my question in an exceedingly low voice. "They're not…Peter didn't take these from…."

"Peter and I know an expert in forgery," Jasper assured me. "These are completely made up."

I nodded, relieved.

"There's another part coming in a few days," Peter announced. "I'm still waiting to hear from someone."

My eyes met Jasper's, and I wished he could read my thoughts. If the first part of our gift is forged identities, I hardly want to know what the second one will be.

"Don't worry." Jasper leaned forward to kiss my temple. "I'm sure it's fine."

But I said nothing, only sat back in my chair, done with my gifts, and watched the others clean up the remnants of wrapping paper and ribbons. Jasper was the only one with a gift left, mine. He tugged at the purple ribbon I had wrapped around the box, sliding off the lid to reveal the handsome gold pocket-watch resting on a bed of cotton. He lifted the watch from the cotton, letting it glimmer in the firelight.

"Alice, you shouldn't have," he murmured, flipping it over in his hand. I smiled as he read the inscription aloud. "'J- For the rest of time. -A'"

"I was going to put J.W., but I wasn't sure what to put after mine," I said, happy that he was so happy with his gift and trying not to wonder where mine was.

"This is perfect," he said and leaned over to kiss my temple before pulling a small box from the pocket of his slacks. "Do you want your gift now or later?"

I hesitated for a half-second before blurting out, "Now." Jasper smiled.

"Come with me," he insisted, holding out his hand. I took it and followed him out of the room, down the hallway, and back to the library. This book-filled room was Jasper's little haven and one of the few places we could count on being alone without being tempted to get carried away with our feelings. We stood near the grandfather clock, hearing its great big ticks sound in time with the tiny metallic ones coming from Jasper's new pocket-watch.

"Well, you already know what it is, but…here." Jasper held out the plain little white box, and I took it, opening the top deftly.

It was better than even I had seen. The ruby pendant was a glittering heart quite bigger than my thumbnail, the same color as my Jasper's eyes the moment of our first kiss in Atlantic City. It was surrounded by tiny white diamonds, paler than my skin and shining brightly, all of it strung onto a thin silver chain. Jasper reached for the necklace and I stepped closer as he clasped it around me.

"It's more beautiful that I imagined," I murmured, touching the ruby that now rested against my sternum. As beautiful as it was, a tinge of worry ran through me as I wondered just how he could have paid for something so valuable. I bit my lip and spoke up. "How did you…?"

Jasper's eyes crinkled as he smiled. "You're not the only one with money in the bank, Alice."

Of course, that didn't make it any more clear, and I grew more confused.

"I've had some money growing in an account for the past three years," he explained. "It isn't a lot…and it was mostly given to me by Peter and Charlotte, so I'm not sure it was well come by, but it's something to live on. And if it allows me to get you nice things, then I'm not going to argue."

I nodded and fingered the delicate chain. "And it is very nice."

"You like it, I'm glad," he said, smiling as he sat down on the edge of one of the desks and drawing me close with his arm around my waist so that our faces were level.

"It's almost as if I'm wearing your heart, still as it is," I teased lightly, stroking the side of his cheek with my fingertips. The corner of his mouth went up in a half-smile but his eyes grew serious. My hand grew still on his face.

Jasper hesitated, as if a great weight was pressing against his chest and the next words out of his mouth would determine whether it was lifted or pressed even harder. He took a deep breath, stared at me with focused burgundy eyes, and spoke.

"Alice, I gave you this because…you have already captured my heart. It may be still, but it is there. And it belongs to you entirely."

I think about two full minutes passed before I breathed – the two clocks chiming midnight in unison assured me of that. It's Christmas, was the first thought that ran through my head. It's Christmas in Boston and I am here with the man whose heart is mine and mine his.

"Did I scare you off then?" Jasper joked as if he knew surely it was the opposite.

"As if you could ever get rid of me," I murmured before pressing my lips to his. I was ecstatic to know that in this kiss were all the feelings I had been keeping bottled inside newly reciprocated. We held tightly to each other after separating, our foreheads pressed together as if being apart would cause the end of both of our worlds.

"I…" I began to speak but bit my tongue, unable to say the words my heart was screaming. Wasn't this the next step, saying it aloud? I faltered, still unable to do it for fear of rejection.

But Jasper's eyes were sparkling like my ruby, happy and knowing as he spoke for the both of us.

"I love you too."