Everyone and their duck knows this was all originally created by Stephenie Meyer. I am merely taking liberties with her characters.
A big huge thank you to AndrewsLove0491 and MarchHare5. I love you both. Thanks so much for all the hard work you put into this. It would be a mere shell without you two.
Happiest of birthdays to luvrofink. This is for you, doll.
The first time Alice had seen the blond-headed stranger in her dreams, she knew he was special, that he would be different and important. As she grew older, lived a little, the stranger felt less strange and more of a comfortable fixture. He provided comfort in the midst of her hellacious reality. During the quiet times of the day, she longed for sleep so she might see him again. Her dreams were the only things that kept her going sometimes.
The man of her dreams was now sitting next to her on the couch, telling her all the things that had gone through his mind the day before. His tears brought on her own. His fear of never seeing her again mirrored what she'd felt. It was nice to be understood, yet she was surprised at the depth of his emotions. She couldn't remember ever seeing her father cry. There were so many happy memories and so few sad ones. Alice felt very lucky to have such good roots, but she realized she had much to learn about this man. She looked forward to unraveling his every mystery.
Exhaling as her thoughts fast-forwarded to the present, Alice turned her head to focus solely on Jasper, who was asking her what she wanted out of her future. Did she want to live in her own space? Did she want to make her own way?
He was giving her choices and letting her decide. Alice felt more like an adult, maybe even his equal.
"Marry me?" Jasper asked the question softly, but firmly. He made his intentions clear without putting pressure on Alice to bend to his will.
Her eyes swept over him before returning to meet his steady gaze. She found love, hope, and a tiny bit of tension in them. He leaned toward her in anticipation, waiting for her answer.
Questions flooded her mind. What-if scenarios played out before her eyes.
Over the course of their short relationship, Jasper had patiently listened to each of her fears and concerns whenever they took a new step. With each anxious question Alice voiced, he had a calm, logical answer. Because of this, Alice was confident this step would be no different. There were no questions or scenarios they couldn't figure out together.
If he'd posed the question a week ago, Alice knew she would have felt unworthy and too unsure of herself to say yes, even though she wanted him more than anything. She'd lived a whole lifetime since then. She was no longer that girl.
Alice smiled into his eyes as her palm found its way up his forearm. His pulse was at a full gallop. Her other hand cupped his cheek, and she leaned in to touch her forehead to his.
"Together forever?"
"Yes." His voice was thick with emotion.
"We can figure everything out as we go?"
"Yes."
She kissed the tip of his nose. "Then make me your wife."
Jasper let out a ragged breath and swept her into his arms.
O.O.O
Alice spent the rest of the day floating on a cloud. Her smile stretched wide until her cheeks hurt. When they weren't kissing, Alice and Jasper filled the silence with questions and discussions of the future. They talked about everything under the sun: babies, religion, politics, movies, favorite colors and foods.
Some things they had already figured out about each other. Jasper guessed that Alice was a morning person and liked her quiet time alone. Alice learned that Jasper liked having barbecues on the weekends until the wee hours of the morning. She didn't mind doing household chores, but he definitely liked things done a certain way. He liked coffee; she preferred tea. Alice hated grocery shopping, while Jasper enjoyed trying new things he found on the shelves. Until Felix came into her life, she'd come from a loving family and had a happy childhood. His had been stressful and broken until he'd met the Cullens.
"We seem to be opposites in a lot of areas," Alice mused.
"Rose and Em push each other's buttons plenty, and they make it work just fine. It just adds to their passion, I guess."
"They have plenty of that." Alice smiled playfully at Jasper as she pinked.
He laughed. "I can't even imagine what it must be like living with them."
"It's been fine, really."
Jasper pulled Alice close to him again. He wanted to be able to read everything on her face when he asked his next question.
"How do you feel about kids?"
Alice traced the lines of Jasper's features as she thought of his question. His eyebrows were dark blond like his hair, but his beard was slightly darker. Her eyes moved back up to his. "I was an only child, so I wasn't around them much. Babysitting was kind of a chore for me, but I love Ren. I haven't thought about it much. What do you think about kids?"
"I think I'd like to have a couple of my own running around."
Alice nodded. There was no doubt in her mind that she'd love her own kids, especially if she got to make them with Jasper. "That sounds nice. Maybe in a few years? I'd like to be selfish and hog you all to myself for a while."
"I like that thought the best." A chuckle rumbled around his chest as he nuzzled her neck.
They talked and talked the afternoon away until the whole Cullen clan clomped down the stairs for dinner with Esme.
Later, after dessert and announcements, the women were in the kitchen squealing together and talking animatedly with their whole bodies.
Jasper chuckled from his vantage point. He liked that Alice twirled around in her apron while the girls began throwing wedding plans around.
"Dude, you totally need to get laid. This sighing and swooning is getting annoying."
"You're so classy, Em." Edward shook his head.
"I seem to remember you sighing and swooning whenever Rose was around once upon a time. What am I talking about? You still do that!" Jasper ribbed his friend.
"Touché," Emmett muttered reluctantly.
"Besides, the wedding is only a month away. I was thinking I'd just wait."
Emmett snorted into his beer. "What?"
Jasper should have known this subject would come up. He sat back and studied his beer as if there would be a chemistry test on the contents later.
"She gave me her first kiss. She's waited for me her whole life, and given everything she's been through, I don't want to rush her. Call me a pansy, but I want to take my time. I want to do things the right way. Waiting feels right."
Emmett softened. "You've got me there. I can't argue with that."
Edward quietly saluted Jasper with his beer bottle before the three of them turned to watch the girls chattering away in the kitchen.
"You realize they're going to plan everything tonight, right? Bella doesn't like having parties for herself, but she's got no problem planning someone else's."
Jasper feigned ignorance. "I thought I was just supposed to show up in a tux."
O.O.O
Before slipping into her bed that night, Alice sifted through a few of her old sketch books. Her sixteenth year was especially trying for her, and she had several books of words and drawings to show for it. Still, it wasn't hard to find. She'd been on a fashion kick then. There in the pages she found what she was looking for, and she slept easily that night.
A week later, the girls went dress shopping. Alice hunted through racks and racks of white dresses.
"Can we help you look?" Rose's voice floated to her from the other side of the rack.
"I'll know it when I see it."
"Do we get a hint?" Bella was behind her.
"Um, it looks like it's from the '50s and it comes a little past my knees. I remember a rounded neck and a bow in the back at the bottom of a line of buttons."
Rose was a little confused. "You've tried it on before?"
"No. I had a dream about it a long time ago."
"And you still remember?"
"Well, I drew it in the morning as soon as I woke up. I found the sketch last night."
Esme chimed in. "If you're looking for vintage, honey, we're not going to find it here. There's a nice shop a few blocks away. Let's go there."
In no time at all, the four of them found the place. It was small but stuffed full of all kinds of lovely vintage and new articles. A strawberry blonde greeted them from behind the counter and waved to Esme.
Esme pulled Bella and Rose aside and sent them to find an assortment of underthings and shoes for Alice. Then she went to the front desk.
"Hello, Tanya. How's business?"
"It's picking up. I've only been in business for two years, and I think I'm doing better than expected."
"Glad to hear it." Esme checked over her shoulder. Seeing Alice was completely focused on the racks of clothing, Esme leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice. "Can you do me a favor?"
Tanya surveyed her store before looking back to Esme. "You're up to something. I'm intrigued."
"Take my credit card and open a tab for me. Whatever these girls bring, charge it to me, and keep it on the down low."
"I can do that."
Esme shared a conspiratorial wink with the younger woman and went on her way.
Alice heard the phone in her pocket chirp. She looked down to see a text from Jasper waiting.
Love you.
She smiled to herself. It was kind of nice to know his thoughts whenever he felt like sharing them.
Love you, too.
With her phone back in her pocket, she turned to find another rack of dresses. She was pleased that the vintage items seemed to be more in her price range. Alice had been saving most of what she'd earned, but she'd never dreamed that buying a wedding dress would happen so quickly.
"May I help you find anything?"
Alice didn't even realize someone was beside her and started slightly. "Oh! Thank you, but I'm just looking."
"My name is Tanya. I own this shop, and I know everything in it. If you're looking for something specific, maybe you could describe it to me, and I can find you something close to it."
Alice wasn't looking for close, but she didn't want to be rude. She gave the description of the picture in her mind. Tanya pursed her lips and looked away as she took a mental inventory.
She tapped her lips in thought. "I think I have just the thing."
Tanya dashed off to find it.
"How are you holding up?" Rose asked from behind Alice. Everyone seemed to be sneaking up on her today!
"I could ask the same of you. Hungry?"
"I brought snacks." Rose dug a granola bar and an apple out of her purse and held them up for Alice to see, who giggled in return. "We have some stuff for you to try on in a fitting room if you want."
"Is that the bridesmaids' job?" She'd asked both Rose and Bella to stand with her the same night Jasper popped the question.
"Of course! Hence the 'maid' portion of the title. We're here to help. Plus, we've both done this fairly recently."
Alice followed Rose to the dressing room and peeked inside, finding very little to try on. "Shoes and undies?"
"They're not undies! It's called 'lingerie,' and you wear it under the pretty dress. Some of it—" Rose lifted up a soft corset. "—helps your posture so you can relax and have fun."
With a raised eyebrow, Alice looked skeptically between the dressing room and Rose.
"Don't look at me like that. Get in there and try stuff on. Oh, here comes a dress."
Alice turned to find Tanya gliding toward her with something white draped over her shoulder. Tanya presented it to Alice. "Am I going in the right direction?"
The woman reached down to remove the protective covering from the dress, but Alice could still see enough of it to know it was exactly the dress she'd been looking for. With a squeak, Alice covered her mouth with both hands and immediately burst into tears.
"I would say so," Rose answered for her as Bella and Esme came rushing over.
"Did you find it?" Esme asked.
Alice could do nothing but nod through her happy tears. It was perfect, and it was exactly what she'd pictured in her mind.
"I'll help her get dressed if you two would like to go find dresses for yourselves," Esme suggested.
Ten minutes later, Esme and Alice had her dressed and standing on the display pedestal surrounded by mirrors. Esme could hardly contain her tears. Bella and Rose were already coordinating their dresses and planning Alice's makeup and hair.
The bride-to-be barely recognized herself. Her bruises were nearly gone, and her hands were healing quickly. That wasn't the part that surprised her the most. Alice looked all grown up. She'd never felt like a woman, but today, she was almost convinced that she was one. Jasper wouldn't be marrying a stupid little girl after all.
She looked down at the solitaire diamond set in white gold he'd brought her a few days earlier. It sparkled and shone and took her breath away every time she saw it. As she stood there in her dress, wearing his ring, something clicked in her brain. Jasper wouldn't have picked her if he thought she was too young. He wouldn't have asked her to partner with him in life's journey if he didn't think she would make it. Alice decided it was high time to start thinking like the woman she wanted to be instead of fearing she was still the little girl of the past.
Rose caught the whole thing as she admired her friend and the beautiful dress she wore. She cleared her throat to grab everyone's attention.
"Would you all mind letting me have a moment with Alice?"
"I'll go try on my dress," Bella suddenly piped up.
"And I'll help you," Esme chimed in.
Tanya made herself scarce, keeping watch from a distance in case anyone would need her assistance.
"You okay, doll?" Rose asked quietly once everyone was gone.
"I think so."
"Did you just realize that you're on the verge of something huge?"
"Yeah. How did you guess?"
"I remember feeling that way, too, and you were far away in your own thoughts just now."
Alice turned to Rose. "It's a little scary."
"Yes, but you just realized you're ready, didn't you?" Rose took her hand and smiled up at her.
Alice returned the smile with her newfound confidence. "Yes, I am."
"Listen to me, Alice. Nothing that has happened to you in the past matters now. You're about to start a new life and shed the old one. Be grateful that it shaped you into who you are, but don't believe for an instant that you always have to be that person. We all grow and change, and we all learn new things. Jasper is lucky to have you. Don't forget that. You're not the only one who hit the jackpot here. We all love you, and we're all so excited that you get to be part of our family forever." Rose drew Alice into a hug to cover her sniffle of tears.
"Thanks, Rose." Alice's heart was too full to say any more.
The front counter was piled with boxes and bundles. Rose and Bella made several trips to the car as Alice reached for her purse. Tanya informed her that everything had already been paid for.
"Splendid! You can use your money for your honeymoon instead," Esme said sweetly as she swept them all out of the shop.
Alice caught the wink Tanya gave Esme and knew what the older woman had done. She was shocked at Esme's generosity. Not wanting to seem ungrateful or cause a scene, Alice quietly thanked Tanya.
Just outside the shop, Alice turned to Esme. "Mama, this is too much."
The woman turned to her just outside the shop door and cupped tender hands around Alice's shoulders. "I've always wanted daughters and looked forward to both of my sons getting married since the day they were born. My gift to Bella and Edward was her wedding dress, and I sent Rose and Emmett on a long honeymoon. I don't have many responsibilities anymore outside of work, and I can only spoil Ren so much."
She smiled at Alice, her eyes pleading with her. "I'd love to do this if it's okay with you."
Alice felt like the luckiest girl in the world. What had she done to deserve finding such wonderful people? For the second time that afternoon, Alice had happy tears in her eyes and few words to say. She hugged Esme to her. "Thank you, Mama."
O.O.O
Alice stood in her dressing room looking at her reflection one last time. Rose and Bella had worked their magic with her makeup. She looked radiant without being too made up. Esme had made quick work of Alice's dress until it fit her form like a glove.
"Ready, kitten?"
All the preparations were made; everything was in its place. It was time to get hitched. Alice pulled down the netting of her short veil and moved to accept Garrett's offered arm.
"So ready."
He walked her down the aisle of the tiny white church and handed her off to her waiting groom, who had eyes only for her.
"You look gorgeous," Jasper whispered as he bent to kiss her hand.
"And you're the most handsome man ever."
Jasper's heart was in his eyes as he pledged himself to Alice for eternity. She forgot everything around her when the minister announced them husband and wife. He gave Jasper permission to kiss the bride, and he was more than happy to oblige. He swept Alice into his arms and dipped her low. Alice giggled before his mouth covered her own, and the outside world faded from her senses. Jasper kissed her until Emmett hollered his approval.
O.O.O
Jasper woke when the morning sun peeked through the blinds and warmed his face. He rolled over, reaching for Alice but finding his bed empty. Sitting up, he looked around the room and listened for her whereabouts. The sound of running water met his ears from downstairs. With a yawn and a stretch, he swung his legs over the side of his bed and made his way to find her.
Alice was padding around their kitchen, barefoot and in his dress shirt from the previous night, adding creamer to two coffee cups as the black liquid was brewing. His heart began pounding at the memory of the way her fingers had gently unbuttoned his shirt and touched every inch of his chest revealed to her. There were no words for the way it felt to be truly discovered for the first time.
"Mine," she'd whispered as she smoothed her palms over his chest and removed the shirt from his shoulders. It was quite possibly the sexiest thing he'd ever heard. Jasper shook himself from the memory to keep from pouncing on her again. Manners demanded he greet her before dragging her back upstairs like a caveman.
"Good morning, Mrs. Whitlock," he said from the door.
Alice turned quickly. A smile played about her lips as she unabashedly looked him up and down. The man was in nothing but his underwear. "Hello, husband."
Jasper watched as Alice bit her bottom lip and rubbed her thighs together. The shirt she was wearing covered her breasts but was open enough to give him a clear view of her creamy skin. He couldn't stay away any longer. Crossing the space between them, he wasted no time in kissing her deeply while cradling the back of her head. She responded in turn. Alice went up on the tips of her toes to wrap her arms around his neck. The movement caused her shirt to open, and they both sighed at the contact. Jasper's free hand moved down to grab her backside, pulling her even closer to him.
The coffee maker beeped beside them, signaling the coffee was ready and effectively interrupting the mood.
Alice pulled away and looked up at him. "Would you like some coffee?"
"How about I pour it into a carafe and we take it and this basket Esme gave us back upstairs?"
His wife gave him a playful smile. "Whatever will we do upstairs?"
Jasper raised a challenging eyebrow to her before lowering his lips to her neck.
"We could start with some breakfast." Alice nodded. Jasper's hand inched slowly down her belly. "Then we could snuggle some more."
A shiver of pleasure went through her as he reached her most delicate area. "Or we could do other things."
She let out a gasp as he caressed her there. "What do you think?"
"I think..." She couldn't think of anything but what Jasper was doing to her. "I had no idea my body could feel so many things."
He chuckled and released her. A look of disappointment crossed her face.
"Honey, we have all kinds of things to learn about our bodies together. Are you sore?"
The pleasure had been so worth the pain. "Yeah, but I don't care."
"I do. Let's start with a bath. It'll help soothe your muscles and allow me to take care of you a little before I have my way with you again later."
Alice's eyes widened as he moved in closer. He wanted her again? Her stomach chose that moment to burble in hunger, interrupting Jasper. He smiled and kissed her quickly. "I'd bet just about anything Esme stuck some scones in that basket. We'll eat them while we're in the tub."
She watched Jasper gather the basket and the coffee. Alice grabbed the cups and followed him up the stairs, admiring the way the muscles on his legs moved beneath his skin all the way. He led her back to the bedroom and handed her a Scottish Oat scone before moving to the bathroom to draw a warm bath.
"Here's your coffee." She set the cups on the ledge of the tub before going back to find a scone for him, too.
"Thank you, love." The bath was ready, and he was waiting for her. "Care to join me?"
Alice removed her shirt and willed herself not to blush under his approving gaze. She'd never been naked around anyone before and was surprised at how much she enjoyed it, even though part of her was still a little shy. Stepping into the tub, she meant to sit next to him in the carved out section. Jasper had other plans and pulled her body across his naked lap. Excitement raced up her body, and Alice moved to kiss her husband greedily.
His hot coffee sat forgotten for many minutes as her hands roamed over his chest and up his neck before knotting themselves in his hair. Jasper took advantage of the situation and allowed his fingers to graze every bit of her he could reach, memorizing every line and curve of her body.
"Will I ever not feel overwhelmed when your hands are on me?" Alice asked as she released his mouth and looked into his eyes.
He smiled, knowing exactly how she felt. "I hope not."
Emboldened, she kissed him again. "Let's stay here forever."
"That might not be the best idea. The water will get too cold, and Esme might miss her baking buddy."
Alice giggled and poked him in the ribs. "You know what I mean. I love you, I want to be with you always."
"I love you, too, kitten." Jasper smiled and cupped her cheek. He repeated part of their vows. "We're partners for life, and I'll love you and no other for the rest of my days. We won't ever be apart for long."
She sighed and smiled at his words. That's when Alice realized that the happy endings in fairy tales weren't endings at all. They were just the beginning of the real adventure that began together.
The end. Thank you for reading.