AN: Hello everyone! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you all, but I've had a mountain of biology homework these last few weeks. I can't wait to get out of this semester of college so I can change my major and never have to worry about science ever again. I think being an English major will suit me much more than any kind of science does.
All right, so in the last chapter we had the Cullen's arrive in Chicago to take Alice back to Forks with them but both she and her mother were putting up some resistance, even though Alice wants to go back. And we rounded it off with Jasper getting a feeling that Alice was in trouble. Okay, now I'm going to try something a bit different with this chapter. You know in the last few chapters, I've been relating an event from Alice's perspective and if I want to do it from someone else's then I do a flashback scene. No flashbacks here. I'm going to do the event of rescuing Alice first from Jasper's perspective, then I'm going to go back in time story-wise before the incident and have Alice's perspective. That's why it's going to seem strange if the story jumps around a little somewhere in the middle. So don't worry, there's a method for my madness.
And you'll all be pleased to hear this, but this IS NOT the last chapter!!! I managed to extend this out so there's this chapter, the next one, then the story will be over. So you still have one more chapter to look forward to!! Am I good or what? Happy reading!
Chapter 10: The Final Decision
Carlisle and Esme looked at each other puzzled, not knowing what to say to that remark. Finally, Esme said cautiously, "what do you mean she's in trouble? How do you know?"
"I don't know how to explain it, I just know," said Jasper. "I can feel it. Something's wrong. We have to get back to her house and help her."
"Son," said Carlisle in what he hoped was a soothing voice. "Maybe we should just call her and see if she's all right."
"We may not have time," argued Jasper, who was putt his coat on hurriedly. He turned back to his foster parents. Neither of them had moved an inch. "Come on!" he shouted angrily at them. They looked at each other once more before Carlisle got the car keys and they dashed back down to the parking lot.
"Jasper, you have to give us more to go on than this," said Carlisle, though as he started the car, he began to get a feeling in the bottom of his heart as well that something wasn't right. He tried to brush it off and say that it was all psychosomatic and that Alice was fine, but something told him he shouldn't hold his breath.
"I told you Carlisle, I don't know how to explain it any better," replied Jasper anxiously.
There was silence for the rest of the drive as Carlisle and Esme tried to figure out what was going on. Theories were dashing through Carlisle's head at the speed of light, each more implausible than the last. Esme just gripped the armrest and tried to keep her mind off what sort of trouble Alice might've gotten herself into now. Jasper just stared out the window, willing the car to go faster. But Carlisle was going as fast as he could, given the traffic laws and they weren't sure if there was anything even to worry about.
Jasper dialed Alice's cell phone number, but there was no answer. He tried again, still no answer. He was beginning to get frantic. Where was she?
When the car pulled up in front of the Brandon house, Jasper didn't wait until Carlisle had fully turned off the engine before jumping out of the car. He sprinted across the lawn to the front door and pounded his fist on it. Meredith Brandon looked surprised to see him when she opened the door, but the surprise was overshadowed by the worried expression on her face. Something was up, that was for sure.
"Where's Alice?" asked Jasper hurriedly.
"She went for a walk," replied Meredith. "She told me she was just going for a walk around the block, but she's been gone for too long. It doesn't take over an hour to walk around this neighborhood. She didn't take her cell phone either, so I was about to go out, then you show up pounding on my door."
"Do you know which way she went?" asked Jasper.
"Somewhere along that way," said Meredith, pointing down the road. Jasper looked in the direction she'd pointed and his shoulders slumped in frustration. There was a fork in the road dead ahead of them. She could've gone in either direction.
"Seriously," he thought to himself. "Do the gods have to make this day any harder?"
Carlisle and Esme finally reached the porch by this point, but they needn't have bothered getting out of the car. Jasper was already starting back towards it saying, "come on, let's drive around the neighborhood 'til we find her."
As Jasper reached the car though, Meredith called him back. "There's a park about a mile and a half that way you could try," she called, pointing towards the right hand path in the fork. "She sometimes goes there when she wants to think."
Jasper didn't even answer her. He just got back in the car and Carlisle began to drive in the direction Meredith had indicated. They reached the park after about five minutes of driving, but unfortunately, it was the size of the forest that lined the Cullen's backyard. Jasper didn't say anything, but his face was speaking volumes. Worry, anxiety and hopelessness were radiating off of him in waves, but he knew he was going to have to get over that if he wanted to find Alice before something bad happened to her.
He jumped out of the car, ran through the park entrance, not even bothering to see if Carlisle and Esme were behind him. He ran down the main path and began looking at possible trails she might've taken. He knew there was nothing else for it but to start exploring but that would take too long. Fortunately however, Lady Luck decided to take pity on him.
"Let me go! Help!" he heard a voice yelling from a couple trails down. He'd know that voice anywhere and he remembered the tone being used as well. It sounded as though Alice was having a repeat of the Port Angeles incident.
"Not again," Jasper murmured exasperatedly, but all the same, he sprinted down the trail as fast as he could in the direction the scream had come from. This time, he'd do more than just beat the crap out of whoever it was. He was going to break something at the very least, an arm, a leg, he didn't care as long as they paid for endangering his Alice. He heard another scream and pushed himself to go faster. His legs were beginning to ache in protest of how quickly he was moving and his lungs were beginning to burn from lack of oxygen, but he didn't stop. He rounded the corner and his heart slammed to a stop. He'd gotten there just in time to see the same two men from Port Angeles with their hands all over Alice. She was fighting and struggling to get away, but being only 4'10", she was at a slight disadvantage.
"Hold still!" said one of them, growing irritated with her and slapping her across the face, which made her cry out in pain.
Rage coursed through Jasper twice as much as it had when he found Alice in Washington and he walked briskly forward saying loudly and clearly, "leave her alone!"
The two men turned around and when they saw him, their expressions turned from shock to alarm then strangely to amusement.
"So, you're here after all," said the first one. "I thought for sure you'd be long gone."
"I wish you were," said the second one. "Then this pretty little thing would be all ours." He ran his finger down Alice's cheek, making her whimper in fear and try to turn away from him, but he wouldn't let go of her.
"Get your damn filthy hands off her!" he said, breaking into a run and preparing to swing a punch at one of them. However, both thugs were prepared this time. The nearest one grabbed Jasper's fist before it could make contact and quickly twisted his arm behind his back. Before Jasper had time to react, he felt a hard blow on the back of his knees and he went down to the ground.
"Jasper!" screamed Alice in fright, struggling against the hold of the other man.
Jasper started to say, "I'm fine," but his opponent wasn't done with him yet. He punched him in the face and kicked him hard in the stomach. Jasper gasped audibly, trying hard to breathe but all that came out of his mouth was a bad wheezing sound. Alice burst into tears as she realized there was nothing she could do to stop the pain that man was inflicting on him, pain because he had come to rescue her.
Jasper was beyond angry by this point. "What the hell's the matter with me?" he asked himself. "Six weeks ago, I was able to beat these guys to a pulp and make them run like the cowards they are. But I had the element of surprise then. I shouldn't have made my presence known." He struggled to get up, but before he could move an inch, he was lying on his stomach, pinned to the ground. He could feel that villain's knee pressing hard into his back, preventing him from getting up.
"Here's the deal girlie," he heard him say. "We'll leave him alone if you come with us quietly."
Jasper shook his head furiously and thought to himself, "no way, she can't go with them. I can't lose her again, not after I've just gotten her back." Out loud, he said, "No Alice, don't." He wished he could've sounded stronger, but his voice was still hoarse and he still hadn't got his breath back from when he'd been winded.
At that moment, he heard a voice call out, "Jasper! Alice! Let them go!"
"Shit," said the man above him and the last thing he felt was someone hitting him hard in the head before he lost consciousness altogether.
------------
Alice watched Carlisle, Esme and Jasper leave from the hall window and knew that she ruined her life again.
"For God's sake, what is wrong with me?" she asked herself. "I've been given a third chance to rebuild my life and isn't the third time supposed to be the charm? I need to accept their offer to come back to Forks while I still can, but what am I supposed to do about Mom? She needs me around."
Unfortunately for her, her mother decided she had to make the decision-making process all the more harder for her daughter, came up behind her and said, "Alice, you don't want to go back with them, do you? I thought the reason you came back was because you weren't happy there and wanted to come home."
"That's not true," said Alice. "I loved Forks, I love the Cullen's. They're my family now, Mom. I came back because you needed me. You needed me to take care of you and you're going to need me until you're strong enough to take care of yourself without feeling the urge to go to a bar every night. I'm sacrificing my chance at love and happiness to do the right thing and look after you."
"Sweetheart, that woman, Esme is it?" Alice nodded. "She said you wanted to finish high school and go to college."
"I do," replied Alice. "I've wanted that for a long while now, but I'm not going to be able to go with Dad gone."
"Her husband…" said Meredith, trailing off trying to remember his name.
"Carlisle," piped up Alice immediately
"Yes, Carlisle. He has a good job, I believe?"
"He's a doctor. He's one of the best surgeons in all of Washington State."
"And filthy rich from the look of the clothes he and his wife were wearing," said Meredith enviously, her mind also wandering to the small fortune worth of diamonds Esme had been wearing in her ears and around her neck.
"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Alice testily.
"They can pay for high school and college, I can't," said Meredith.
"I know that," said Alice. "I knew that before I left Forks. One of their sons, Edward, even brought that point up when he and the others were trying to convince me to stay. But I just had to give us a chance to patch up our relationship."
"You gave up your future to come back here," said Meredith, realizing for the first time the sacrifices her daughter had made for her. "I appreciate that, Alice, but…"
Alice didn't give her a chance to finish. She turned on her and said lividly, "you appreciate that? I gave up finishing my education to take care of you and you say you appreciate that? What kind of person are you? You don't convince me to go back and make something of myself, you say that I should stay here. If I stay here, I'll never find my place in this world and never have a chance to find the love of my life! Scratch that, I have found the love of my life and he is currently sitting in his hotel suite with a broken heart because I stopped him from telling me he loved me and said I couldn't go back with him. I love him, Mother. I love him more than I thought I could love anyone else and I hate that you're taking that away from me!"
Meredith stood there in a daze for a moment, snapping out of it when she saw Alice grab her coat from the hook by the door. "Where are you going?" she snapped.
"For a walk, I want some fresh air."
"Mary Alice Brandon, come back here!"
Alice turned back to her mother and before she realized what she'd said, the words, "Mary Alice Cullen," had fallen out of her mouth. She turned around and walked out the door without another word, leaving her mother standing there in a stunned silence.
She quickly walked down the street to the park. She'd gone there often to play when she was little and as she started her teen years, she went normally just to get away from life and have some time for herself. After her father left, she spent as much time as she could just walking and thinking to herself, trying to figure out what she'd done wrong to make her father leave. Now as she walked down her favorite trail next to a small river, she thought of how she desperately needed to go back to Forks.
"Why did I speak to Jasper like that?" she asked herself. "I love him and I'm pretty sure he was about to tell me that he loves me. But if he'd said that, then I'd have had to go back to Forks with him. I wouldn't have been able to resist him after that. But Mom needs me, she just plain needs me. How can I abandon her, go and be happy when she's here trying to get over her alcohol addiction? Come to think of it, I can't believe I spoke to my mother that way. I told her I want to go back to Forks, I told her I love Jasper…whoa! Did I say my name was Alice Cullen? Where in the name of heaven did that come from? I mean, I know Jasper and I joked around about how the name Cullen suits me better than Brandon does, but to say my name actually is Cullen, that's pushing it a little. Mom isn't going to be happy with me when I get back. But for now, she needs to cool down and so do I."
She was jerked out of her reverie at that moment by the sound of people coming her way. She looked up to see who it was and groaned when she saw two men walking towards her, the looks on their faces identical to the ones who had cornered her in Port Angeles all those weeks ago.
"I'm officially a danger magnet," she thought to herself, as she started walking more quickly down the dirt path. But they sped up after her. She looked over her shoulder and saw that they were fast approaching her and her short legs wouldn't be able to get her away quickly enough.
"They even look like the guys from Port Angeles," she thought to herself.
"Hey girl, remember us?" called one of them and she recognized the voice.
"Yeah, fancy meeting you here!" said the other one, who was more than relieved at the fact that Jasper wasn't there to protect her this time.
"Oh crap, it is them!" she thought as she moved even faster. But they had surrounded her after another minute.
"Didn't think you'd see us again, did you?" asked the first one.
"What are you thugs doing here?" she asked nervously.
"Visiting a friend, went for a walk and funny enough, we find you," said second one.
"Where's your little friend? He isn't here to come to your rescue now."
"Yeah, we've got you all to ourselves. And this time, you won't get away."
Alice thought quickly as they both reached out to grab her by the arms. This time, she did have time to react before they both grabbed her. She quickly brought her leg back, then kicked the nearest one as hard as she could in the crotch. He bent over in pain, distracting the other one for a few seconds, which gave Alice a little bit of a head start. But it didn't distract him for very long. He caught up with her in two strides, grabbed her forcefully by the arms and turned her around to face him.
"That was a very dangerous move, missy," he said to her, beginning to run his hands up and down her arms, making her recoil in disgust.
"First of all, don't call me missy," said Alice, venom dripping from her voice. "Second, Jasper will be here any minute to help me. He's just gone to get us something to drink, that's all."
"Nice try, but I can smell a bluff a mile away," he said, inching closer to her. She tried to back away from him, but his grip on her arms was too tight.
His friend came up on her other side and began groping her as well, saying "just relax. It'll be over before you know it." He tightened his grip on her arm, his touch hard and painful, nothing like Jasper's tender and loving fingers. She kept struggling against them and they were starting to get frustrated with her.
"Hold still!" said one of them sharply. Then she felt a stinging on her cheek and heard a snap as his hand made contact with the soft skin of her face. He hit her so hard her neck snapped back a little, making her go still out of pure shock. Unfortunately, that was just what they needed to start taking her away.
"Please, someone please help me," Alice said silently as she felt herself begin to be dragged away.
"Leave her alone!" yelled a voice from a few yards away. The two thugs turned in surprise, but didn't lessen their hold on Alice. She couldn't help but smile in relief when she saw Jasper walking towards them. The look on his face was pure rage, dark, dangerous and ferocious, but she still smiled. He had come to her rescue again and she knew he always would.
"So you're here after all," said one of her captors. "I thought for sure you'd be long gone."
"I wish you were, then this pretty little thing would be all ours," said the other, running his finger down her cheek.
"Disgusting," Alice thought to herself as she shrank back away from him.
"Get your damn filthy hands off her!" said Jasper angrily as he stalked forward to help her. Alice tried to think back to how he had fought them off when they were in Port Angeles, then remembered that she had been unconscious for the entire fight. He'd obviously done well in that brawl, but he wasn't quite so lucky now. One of the men kept a tight hold on Alice, holding her arms behind her back, while the other one took on Jasper. He'd been taking some fighting classes or maybe he was just more prepared for him this time, but in little more than a minute, Jasper was pinned to the ground after having been repeatedly kicked and punched.
"Jasper!" screamed Alice in agony while this was occurring. That awful man was hurting him because he had come to rescue her and she wasn't able to do anything about it. She couldn't stand it if this went on much longer. "I have to do something," she thought to herself, struggling against her captor's hold, but this made him hold her even tighter. She nearly gagged when she heard the one pinning down Jasper say that if she came with them willingly, they'd leave him alone.
"What do I do?" she asked, looking down at Jasper. He was shaking his head frantically at her and saying no as strongly as he could, which wasn't very strong considering how he'd been hit. She was about to agree and allow herself to be dragged away when the cavalry arrived, late as usual.
"Alice! Jasper! Let them go!" It was Carlisle. He and Esme had finally shown up and were running as quickly as possible towards them, Esme looking scared out of her mind and Carlisle with an expression of intense anger on his face.
"Shit!" said the one restraining Jasper. He lifted his foot and hit Jasper once in the head with the heel of his shoe before making a dash for it. His friend followed after him, attempting to drag Alice along with him, but she planted her feet and held her ground, hoping she could at least make it difficult for the villain to drag her off. That was hard to do because of how short she was, but thankfully, Carlisle could still run fairly quickly and caught up with them easily.
"Let her go!" he snarled, delivering a punch to the man's left eye. "If you ever touch my children again, so help me God, I will tear you to pieces!" He swung his fist at the man again and the way he dodged the blow forced him to loosen his grip on Alice. She wriggled out of his grip and ran over to join Esme, who wrapped her arms around her "daughter" and started trying to calm her down. Carlisle was trying to hit his opponent again, but he was running very quickly by now after his friend who had gotten a decent head start on him.
Carlisle took a deep breath to calm down and walked back over to Alice and Esme, trying to keep his voice calm as he asked her, "Alice, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, but what about…" she trailed off, when she saw that Jasper hadn't gotten up after Carlisle arrived. He was unconscious and a big lump was starting to form on his head from where he'd been hit. His face didn't look so good either, he'd definitely have a black eye tomorrow.
"Jasper!" shrieked Alice before dashing over to him. The three of them hurriedly knelt down next to him, Alice taking hold of one of Jasper's hands and wrapping the other arm around Esme hoping to get some comfort. Esme put both her arms around Alice's shoulders and tried to keep her emotions in check so she could be strong for Alice, but that was difficult seeing as her son was lying on the ground injured.
"Jasper," said Carlisle softly, grabbing him by the shoulder and shaking him. "Son, can you hear me?" He gently prodded the area where Jasper had gotten hit and tried hard not to wince as heard his son let out a low moan.
"We need to clean that wound on his head," said Carlisle looking for something to use. There was a stream a few meters away, trickling merrily without a care in the world. For a moment, Carlisle wished he was so lucky, but then squashed that thought. He had his wife and two of his children there with him, the rest of them back in Forks awaiting their return. He wouldn't trade what he had for anything, not even the chance to live a quiet and peaceful life without any worries at all. But the sound of running water had given him an idea.
"Esme, do you have a handkerchief in your purse?" he asked. Esme hurriedly opened her purse and dug through it before handing him a simple white kerchief. He waved it off and said, "go over there and dampen it in the stream and then bring it back to me." She didn't say anything, but nodded and did as she was told. While she did that, Carlisle picked up his son as gently as he could and brought him over to a nearby bench. He then took his coat off, folded it neatly and placed it under Jasper's head as a pillow.
"Carlisle, what can I do?" asked Alice anxiously.
"Just sit here with him," said Carlisle. "Speak to him. That might help him wake up more quickly."
Alice faltered. What was she supposed to say? Should she thank him for saving her again or should she wait until he was awake for that? Or did she say what she really wanted to say, that she loved him?
"Here," said Esme, hurrying back over to them with the damp washcloth in her hand. Carlisle thanked her, turned Jasper over a little so he could see the wound more clearly and began lightly rubbing his head. Jasper let out another moan and both Carlisle and Esme winced as they heard their son let out such a pitiful sound.
Alice was shaking with quiet sobs. How could she have let this happen to someone she loved? She grabbed the handkerchief out of Carlisle's hand and said, "I'll do that," thinking if she was going to make up for this, she'd better start by playing nurse. Carlisle didn't say a word, but stood up and took Esme's hand, guiding her a few feet away and began to talk to her in muted voices.
"Jasper," whispered Alice, so that Carlisle and Esme couldn't hear. "I can't believe you did this for me. You saved me again and I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough for it. You shouldn't have gotten hurt though. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for getting you into this mess, I'm sorry for all those things I said back at the house, I'm sorry I left Forks at all. Wake up. I won't forgive myself if you don't, so please wake up. I need you, I…I love you."
"It's about time," said a hoarse voice and Alice looked up to see Jasper crack his eyes open a little bit. And even though his head was in pain and he was weak and tired, he was still able to give her a breathtaking smile that never failed to make her heart skip a beat.
"Jasper," said Alice dumbfounded. "How long have you been awake?"
"Only about a minute or so," he whispered, not able to talk much more than that.
"You heard all that?" she stuttered. He nodded, but then let out a hiss as that caused pain in his head.
Luckily for Alice, her moment of embarrassment was interrupted when Esme called out, "Jasper?" She and Carlisle moved back over to join them and both let out a sigh of relief when they saw their son was with them once again. Esme immediately pulled him into a hug and said, "Thank the Lord you're all right. I was so worried."
"Sorry Mom," he said, hugging her back and smiling.
"How does your head feel, Jasper?" asked Carlisle, gently prodding it with his fingers.
Jasper hissed in pain again and said, "does that answer your question?"
"Sorry," said Carlisle, helping Jasper to sit up. "Well, you should be all right. Let's get you back to the hotel and get an ice pack to put on your head and maybe it won't swell too much."
"Come on, let's get you home too Alice," said Esme.
"Just one problem with that, home isn't here," said Alice and the three of them turned to stare at her.
"What do you mean, honey?" asked Esme, but the glint in her eye said she knew very well what Alice meant.
"Forks is my home, not here," said Alice simply and at her words was instant celebration.
Esme squealed in delight and hugged her as tightly as possible, kissing her on the cheek and saying she couldn't wait to get home and tell the others. Carlisle laughed, kissed his wife and kissed his newest daughter, glad to finally have a complete family. Jasper came up behind Alice and wrapped his arms around her waist, whispering in her ear. "Good choice, darlin'."
"Did you expect me to say anything else?" she asked as they began walking back towards the park entrance, reaching up to put her arm around him as well.
"I was hoping you'd agree to come back with us, but there was always the chance you'd refuse us again," he replied. "And I couldn't bear it if you said no." He looked deep into her eyes and continued, "I mean it Alice. I'm never letting you go again, not when it's taken me so long to find you. I love you."
"I love you too, Jasper," she said and he smiled the first true smile he had since she left. He leaned down to give her a kiss and the moment their lips touched, Alice heard a symphony of bells and chimes inside her head. This kiss was so much better than any of the previous times he'd kissed her, simply because they'd finally admitted how much they meant to each other and hopefully were never going to be separated again.
But as they got back into the car, Alice was reminded of one last problem. "What about my Mom? How can we convince her to let me go back to Forks?"
"We'll worry about that tomorrow," said Carlisle. "Right now, we all need to get some rest."
"Just where were you guys anyway?" asked Jasper. "It took you ages to catch up with us."
"That's because you're young and you can run quickly," replied Carlisle. "And you were out of the car before I turned the engine off, Jasper. By the time, Esme and I made it into the park, you were already out of sight. We had to follow the sounds of fighting and Alice's screaming to find you."
"Thanks for coming to help us, Carlisle," said Alice. He just nodded, saying he would anytime and every time.
When they got back to Alice's house, she made to get up, but Jasper wouldn't let go of her hand. She turned to look up at him. He was looking at her longingly but also somewhat fearfully, as though he was afraid that the moment he let go of her was the moment he'd lose her forever.
She leaned towards him and whispered in his ear, "I'm not going anywhere, Jasper. I'll be inside waiting for you tomorrow morning. I love you." She kissed him on the cheek, then reached up and hugged Carlisle and Esme awkwardly from behind the back of the seat. She quickly said goodnight and went inside the house, pausing at the front door to watch them drive off back to the hotel. She didn't even hear her mother when she asked where she'd been and what had happened.
"Look at the state you're in!" said Meredith Brandon, taking in Alice's disheveled hair and severely wrinkled clothes, not to mention the fact that part of her face was still swollen from where one of those thugs had hit her. "You tell me right this second, young lady, what happened?"
But Alice didn't even hear her. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts of Jasper and how she'd soon be back in Forks with him and the others that she just went into her room without a word. She showered and just laid in bed for the rest of the day, thinking that maybe things would be all right after all.
-----------
The next morning, Alice woke up and thought for a minute that the entire previous day had been a dream. Had Jasper, Carlisle and Esme really come for her? Had she really been attacked and almost been kidnapped in the park? She knew it wasn't a dream though, it couldn't be. She hadn't been that happy waking up from any of her previous dreams, not even the one of her and Jasper standing at the altar. She quickly got up and got dressed, waiting for the sound she was desperate to hear. It came not half an hour later, the doorbell ringing. She dashed out into the front hallway and threw the door open to see Carlisle, Esme and her beloved Jasper standing on her doorstep and she had never been happier to see them.
"Hey guys!" she squealed, throwing her arms around each of them in turn.
"Hey Alice," they all said together. They came inside and sat down in the living room chatting for a few minutes before Alice's mother decided to make an appearance.
"What's brought you three here again?" she asked coldly, sitting down in an armchair by the mantelpiece.
"What do you think?" asked Jasper equally as cold.
"Jasper," said Esme warningly. "Be polite."
Jasper gave her a look that said clearly, "why should I?" but he didn't say anything.
"So, I take it you still want to take Alice back to your home in Washington," said Meredith as more a statement than a question.
"Yes we do," said Carlisle. He then simply said, "Alice."
She took a deep breath and said, "I want to go back with them, Mom. Forks is my home. In six week, it felt more like home than this entire city ever did. I really feel like I have a family there, parents, brothers and sisters and someone who loves me for just being me." She reached unconsciously for Jasper's hand and he took it instantly, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze to remind her he was there for her and always would be. "I love it there and it took leaving to make me realize exactly what I was giving up. Please Mom, will you let me go home?"
All eyes turned to Meredith Brandon awaiting her answer. She looked from face to face, trying to come up with some argument to make her daughter stay. She had missed her terribly all those weeks and had been more relieved than anything when she'd turned up at home. Now she was proposing to go away again.
"Alice, do you have any idea what sort of state I was in after you left?" she asked and Alice sighed as she realized what was happening. Classic guilt-trip. "Put lightly, I was a wreck. I was stone cold sober all those weeks because it was my drinking that drove you away. I called the police two days after you left and called them back every day or so, but they didn't do anything to help me. I even hired a private investigator to find you, but since you didn't have a credit card to trace you with, he couldn't find you anywhere. Now you want to go off and make me worry like that again?"
"You needn't worry," reassured Esme. "We'll take excellent care of her and give her the future she deserves. The one she'll never get if she stays here."
"I'm still technically her mother, I'll always worry," pointed out Meredith.
"You have an odd way of showing it, you didn't worry quite so much in the months when she was trying to support the two of you. You just went bar-hopping every night."
"Esme," said Carlisle, taking her hand gently and warning her to watch what she said, much more subtly than she had done with Jasper. He continued, "Alice deserves so much more than she has here. Will you give her a chance at happiness?"
Meredith knew she had lost, but she wasn't sure if she could admit it or not. Alice wanted to leave and as her mother, she knew she had an obligation to let her baby go at some point, but no matter what the circumstances, that was always a difficult thing to do. But when she saw the expression on her daughter's face, the pleading look in her eyes, she knew she had to give her little girl wings and let her fly. She just sighed in defeat and nodded her head.
For a minute, Alice thought she had strayed into one of her dreams. Was her mother really going to let her go back to Forks just like that? "Really?" she stammered out.
"Yes, you can go if you really want to."
Alice squealed and hugged everyone in the room. She was going home!
But her mother wasn't done quite yet. "But you have to agree to a few conditions," she said.
Alice stopped and looked at her nervously before asking, "what kind of conditions?"
"First, you have to agree to call me at least once a week just to check in," said Meredith. "I'll tell you everything that's happening here if you tell me everything happening with you."
"Done," said Alice.
"Second, I want to be present at your high school graduation, college graduation, wedding, and every other major event in your life."
"You think I wouldn't invite you?" asked Alice incredulously. "You're still my mom."
"And I'll provide your plane tickets and accommodations," said Carlisle.
"You don't have to do that," said Meredith blushing a little bit.
"It'd be my pleasure," said Carlisle reassuringly and Esme smiled up at the gentleman that was her husband.
"Anything else Mom?" asked Alice.
"I'd like you to come out and visit me over the summer if that's not too much to ask," said Meredith.
"Of course it isn't," said Alice. "I'll come and see you for a couple weeks every summer."
"We can fly you up to spend Christmas with us if you'd like," said Esme.
"I'll have to think about it," said Meredith. "It depends on what's happening here." And they all knew that was her way of saying she'd like to come but still wasn't sure if she'd be welcome or not.
"Then it's settled," said Carlisle. "Let's start getting all our affairs in order."
They spent the next few days signing documents and filing paperwork that legally made Alice Carlisle and Esme's daughter, enabling them to everything in their power to support her and take care of her. Meredith Brandon nearly burst into tears as she was signing over her daughter to another couple, but she managed to hold them all back. When the question of her taking the Cullen name came up, Alice paused a moment and deliberated. She remembered the discussion she and Jasper had had and she knew the name Alice Cullen suited her a lot more than Alice Brandon did, but she still wasn't sure if she wanted to change it. She then got an idea. When she signed the document changing her name, she signed it "Alice Brandon-Cullen," so that she still had her original name, but could still be called "Alice Cullen" for short.
Finally, when everything was signed, I's dotted and T's crossed, it was time to leave. Esme and Meredith helped Alice pack her things together and they all chatted pleasantly. The two women were much friendlier now than they had been when the Cullen's first arrived and Alice thought it was because they were trying to come to terms with the fact that they now shared a daughter. But as long as they got along, it was all right.
Carlisle confirmed their plane tickets for the following day while Jasper called the others to tell them they were coming home.
"Is Alice coming with you?" was the first thing out of Rosalie's mouth when she heard Jasper say they were on their way back.
"You'll have to wait and see Rose," he said, purposefully making his voice sound sad and dejected, which immediately made her think Alice had said no. He knew she'd relay this back to Emmett, Edward and Bella, which would upset Bella and anger his brothers. But they all wanted this to be a surprise for the other Cullen children, then they'd have a party to celebrate Alice's homecoming.
The next day at the airport, they got all their baggage checked and Meredith walked as far as the security gate with them. She hugged her daughter, then shook hands with Carlisle, Esme and Jasper.
"You take care of her now," said Meredith. "If I find out something's wrong, I'll be up there in a heartbeat."
"Don't worry, she's in excellent hands," said Carlisle in a very if-I-do-say-so-myself voice.
Esme rolled her eyes at him and said, "he's right. We'll take very good care of her."
"And you," said Meredith turning to Jasper. "Don't you dare break her heart."
"Perish the thought," said Jasper, knowing that hurting Alice would be the last thing he'd ever do.
"Goodbye my dear," said Meredith, hugging Alice one last time. "Call me when you get there"
"I will, goodbye Mom," said Alice. They made their way through security and as they headed for their gate, Alice turned to wave goodbye to her mother once more before leaving for Forks.
"Are you okay?" asked Jasper, placing his arm around her.
"I'm fine," she replied. Though it was difficult saying goodbye to her own mother, it had been ten times more difficult to walk away from Carlisle and Esme when she left Forks a little over two weeks ago. She looked up at Jasper and said, "come on Jazzy, let's go home." Jasper smiled at her before leaning down to give her a small kiss on the lips, then guided her onto the plane that would take them back to Forks and back to their family.
Author's Note: All right, the penultimate chapter has been written! What did you think of the rescue scene? I couldn't make it too easy for Jasper, I think it was a little too easy for him last time, but he had to win last time. In Port Angeles, he not only took the thugs by surprise but he had to protect Rosalie as well as Alice. And they did have time to react to him this time.
So Alice is going home with them and the next chapter is going to be her reunion with the rest of the family and the months after that. Now one thing is that I didn't realize I'd made a mistake with their school years until it was too late. You know how in the books, Alice was playing a junior with Bella and Edward, while Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper were all seniors? Well, because Alice technically had to be eighteen to run away and be able to stay away and how I've already said none of them are in college, I'm going to make her start her senior year with Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper. Is that all right with everyone? I hope so! Stay tuned!