I am SO SORRY that it took me this long to get this chapter to you guys. There are many reasons for that, but I won't subject you to them. For those of you who follow me on Twitter, you already know that my life has been an emotional roller coaster these last several weeks. I truly do appreciate all of you for your support and sweet words of encouragement when I most need them. I heart you all hard. :)

I know that there will undoubtedly be errors in this chapter that I missed. Please be forgiving of me for any that you see! OK, enough from me… enjoy!

Chapter 11

Alice

.

Two years later…

The sun glistened like diamonds on the brook behind the house. The afternoon was quiet and tranquil with just the sound of the water tripping over the rocks and the wind flitting through the trees.

Jasper lay stretched out beside me with his head resting on my lap. He was almost purring in contentment as I sifted my fingers through his hair, gently massaging his scalp. His body was boneless in relaxation, his face smooth and his features peaceful – so completely unlike the man from just two years ago.

When I really stopped to think about how far he'd come since I first met him, I was unceasingly amazed. Just seeing him so utterly peaceful and trusting now compared to how guarded he'd been at first always thrilled me.

The last two years had been wonderful… we were both blissfully content. We'd stepped fairly seamlessly into our new roles as lovers and mates. Things weren't exactly perfect, of course, but it was just about as close to perfection as one could get… loving someone the way I loved him, and being loved so completely in return. All of our differences of personality and opinion aside, that was the only thing that truly mattered… it was the foundation everything else was built on.

There were days when I thought the happiness just might grow to be too much to hold inside. At times I thought I might burst wide open from it. And I rejoiced in that every single day. As long as I'd waited for this day to come, it was just that much sweeter now. This, with him, was something I'd never take for granted.

There were only two real points of contention between us anymore… the first one being the Cullens. Throughout the last couple of years, I'd found ways to work them into our conversations, casually mentioning them as I had the opportunity to do so. Jasper wasn't adamantly opposed to the idea of meeting them anymore as he had been at first, but it had taken a long time for him to become even remotely accepting of the idea.

He responded with questions of his own about them at times recently. But I wondered if it was true curiosity on his part, or if it was just his way of gathering information about them – I didn't think the soldier inside would ever really let him rest. I never could quite tell if that was what his reasoning was, though, and I didn't ask.

I didn't ever push him to leave the home we'd created to find them. He knew that was what I eventually wanted, but I wanted him to be ready first. I'd wait for him. I always did. Just because I'd had the chance to see what would happen through my visions didn't mean that he didn't need time to catch up with me. And I knew I'd give him as much time as he needed. That was one thing we had plenty of.

The only other blemish on our happiness was still the issue of hunting. After his first hunt with me, he'd gone on a hunt-to-hunt basis. Sometimes he accompanied me, and sometimes he went on his own. We'd openly discussed every facet of this decision, and we knew how the other thought and felt about it. But he had to be the one to make that final choice, not me.

I'd tried urging him to hunt larger game, thinking it might not be such a deterrent for him. He'd admitted to me after he'd tried it that the taste wasn't that much better than the herbivores. He really couldn't tell much difference – it was all varying shades of disgusting anyway.

He'd gone back and forth for several months, battling between the dissatisfaction of vegetarian hunting and the depression of feeding any other way. It was only in the last few months that he'd committed to hunting animals exclusively. It wasn't easy for him at all. But we hadn't had any contact with humans in all that time so there had been no opportunity for him to stumble in his new choice.

I'd been brutally honest with him about what I saw in his future where this was concerned. It was something he'd struggle with for many years… and he'd struggle hard. I wanted him to know that, though – I wanted him to know ahead of time what he was getting into. I needed him to be able to make an informed decision… and not feel like he'd been pushed into something he didn't want later.

I never wanted him to be able to say that I'd lied to him – whether by omission or commission – and I never wanted to give him reason to say that I'd manipulated him. That was something I just wouldn't do. He'd been manipulated enough in his life.

Aside from those two issues, our little world was perfect. All the visions I'd had of us together like this had fallen so far short of the real thing it was almost laughable. This kind of closeness and intimacy in a relationship was a new world for both of us, but we were discovering and exploring it together… and enjoying every moment of it.

I felt Jasper shift to look at me when my hand stilled abruptly in his hair, but I didn't really see it… my focus was on the vision dancing in front of my eyes – two figures who, at one time, had played prominently in my second sight, but over the last few years had been mostly absent from it. And I was quite surprised to see them now so suddenly.

When the vision faded, I noticed Jasper sitting up beside me, his hands rubbing up and down my arms. I'd asked him one time why he always seemed to hover so protectively over me when I was occupied with a vision. He'd told me that it was because, with my attention diverted inside my mind like that, I was more vulnerable… he couldn't help it.

I thought it a little silly that he felt that strongly about protecting me when there wasn't a soul, mortal or immortal, around for miles, but I'd never tell him that. And secretly, I was delighted by it. I liked that protective side of him… it was an incredibly awe-inspiring feeling to know that someone was so willing to defend your life with their own. It was just one more way that he made me feel incredibly cared for.

"What did you see?" he asked, stroking my face with the fingertips of one hand. "You seemed pleased about whatever it was."

I leaned into his hand, smiling. "Some friends of yours are going to be in the area soon."

"Friends of mine?" His forehead wrinkled in confusion.

"Mmhmm. Peter and Charlotte."

"Really?" The confusion on his face transformed to eagerness. "They're coming here? When?"

"Tomorrow night, I believe. I thought maybe we could meet up with them… I'd like to actually meet them outside of my visions."

"I'd love for you to." His eyes turned thoughtful. "It's been a while since I've seen them," he said seemingly to himself before lifting his eyes back up to mine, lit from within with a teasing glow. "What do you think, will they be surprised?"

I giggled, just imagining what their reaction to this new Jasper that had emerged might be. "I'd say that's a pretty safe bet. You're quite a bit different now than you used to be. They probably won't know what to think." I tapped my finger against the tip of his nose. "Actually, they might just think that I'm some kind of witch that's cast a spell on you."

He laughed deep in his chest, his lips turning up in the smile that I loved so much – the kind of smile he reserved only for me. "Not a witch," he said, lowering his head to seek out my lips with his. "An angel. My angel."

His mouth caressed mine gently, our lips molding together perfectly. My eyelids fluttered closed as his hands came up to weave through my hair, tilting my face so that he could deepen the kiss.

"You said they're coming tomorrow night?" he breathed, nipping my lips lightly with his teeth.

I murmured in assent, too distracted by the drugging movements of his mouth against mine to form a coherent sentence. "As close… as I can tell."

He hummed into my mouth, his hands leaving my hair and stroking down my sides to rest at my waist. "That's good…"

He pulled me gently down, lowering us both to the ground, until my body rested over his. And the rest of the world receded, then, shrinking to the pulsating waves of pleasure that his body drew so readily from mine. Everything else was forgotten.

Later the next night, I stood in front of the mirror, smoothing the skirt of my dress yet again. I'd changed three times, not satisfied with how I'd looked in any of them. I wasn't sure why I was suddenly so nervous about meeting Peter and Charlotte – it wasn't that I saw it going anything other than well. But, aside from Maria herself, these were the two people who'd played the biggest role in Jasper's life.

Before he'd met me, these were the only two people he'd felt any true affection for in the whole course of his immortal life, even before he'd known how to express the fact that he cared. They were the closest thing to family he had, and I supposed that was where my anxiety stemmed from.

With those thoughts, two arms slipped around my waist as Jasper drew me against the warmth of his chest. He pressed his lips against my temple. "Quit fussin', darlin," he said, as he caught my hands in his, stilling their motion. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you." I felt the tremors of nervousness melt away as he held me. He didn't have to use his gift for that, he just naturally had that soothing effect on me.

"You're anxious. Why?"

"No reason," I said, turning around in the circle of his embrace to wind my arms around his neck. "I'm just being silly."

His eyes softened in a smile, and he kissed the tip of my nose and both corners of my mouth before pressing his lips tenderly to mine. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. Let's go."

I led the way when we left the house, following the landmarks that I'd seen in my visions. Jasper followed closely beside me. He caught my hand in his when we finally stumbled on their scent, taking the lead then. Though the scent meant nothing to me, I knew it was very familiar to him.

We slowed slightly as the scent grew stronger, giving them plenty of time to notice our approach. It was a bizarre kind of feeling as there, in the clearing, the two immortals that I'd seen in my visions so often stood not a hundred yards in front of us. They turned around to face us, recognition, shock, uncertainty and a range of other emotions playing rapidly over their features.

Jasper stepped forward, closing the distance, with a genuine smile on his face. Peter and Charlotte passed a quick glance between themselves. I knew how different Jasper must seem to them now – the last time they'd seen him, he'd been nearly comatose from his depression. The man standing before them now wasn't that same man at all.

"Peter, Charlotte, it's good to see you," he greeted when we reached them, extending his hand towards Peter.

Peter looked uncertainly at Jasper's proffered hand for a moment before reaching out and shaking it. The Jasper from even five years ago would never have initiated any form of physical contact, even something as casual as a handshake, and it was obvious that Peter didn't really know what to think about this. He looked back and forth between the two of us and the place where Jasper still clasped my hand in his left.

"Jasper," he spoke finally, though the greeting sounded more like a question – like he was doubting what he was seeing in front of him. "It's good to see you again."

When Peter released his hand, Jasper reached to shake Charlotte's. "How are you, Charlotte?"

"I'm just fine," she answered, just as stunned as her mate. "And who's this?" she asked, glancing at me with more than a little curiosity.

Jasper smiled down at me, letting go of my hand to wrap his arm around my waist, drawing me closer – a fact that made both Peter and Charlotte's eyes widen minutely. "This," he said with unmistakable love and pride in his voice, "is my Alice."

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you," I said when they remained stunned into silence. "I've heard so much about you that I feel like I already know you." That was only a partial truth… Jasper had talked about them, yes, but I didn't think it was wise to mention my visions right now on top of everything else. They had enough to process without that added to it.

Charlotte was the first to recover, smiling warmly at me though confusion remained lined on her face. "It's nice to meet you, Alice."

Jasper spoke up then, trying to diffuse the awkwardness of the encounter. "Alice and I have a home nearby here. We were hoping you'd come back with us. It would be nice to have a chance to catch up with you."

"A home?" Peter asked, his eyebrow raising in surprise. With their nomadic existence, I was sure that sounded odd to them.

"Yes," Jasper nodded.

Peter and Charlotte exchanged another glance, and Peter nodded towards Jasper. "Of course. We'd like that. I'm sure we all have a lot to catch up on," his voice was laced with irony. That was a bit of an understatement on his part.

"Wonderful."

Jasper kept his arm draped around my waist as we walked back towards the house. He asked general questions about where the two of them had traveled since he'd seen them last, places they'd seen and casual inquiries such as that.

Their eyes took in everything even as they carried on their end of the conversation – the way Jasper held me so casually when I knew they'd never seen him invite anyone that close in all they years they'd known him, the easy-going way he smiled and conversed now. And then, when we reached the house, their gaze seemed to catalog everything from the sparkling windows to the flowers that grew around the perimeter. They both commented on the scenic view of the mountains and then followed us inside when we invited them to do so.

Jasper and I had continued to work on our house since we'd moved into it, adding little personal touches here and there. Jasper had taken the books we'd found in the loft and made a bookshelf for them where they sat displayed now along with the chess set he'd found as well. He refused to play with me anymore once he'd realized how my foresight pretty well guaranteed my win. I'd teased him about his fragile male ego not being able to handle being beaten by a woman… and he'd proceeded to show me in other – more satisfying – ways how his ego was anything but fragile.

We'd taken some of my artwork and decorated the walls with it – some pictures just of Jasper and some of us together. When he'd complained that there weren't any of just me, I'd handed him paper and pencil and commissioned him to do it. He'd laughed and eventually complied. He didn't like the finished product, saying that he had no artistic ability, but I hung that one up over the fireplace with the rest in spite of his playful protests. I loved it whether he did or not. That had felt like an opportunity to see myself through his eyes, and despite his claims to the contrary, that…or rather he… made me feel beautiful.

Several hours passed as we danced around the topics that were uppermost on all our minds, staying with a very general conversation. Finally Jasper chuckled under his breath. "Peter, just ask before you burst wide open. I'd rather not have to clean up that mess," he said drily.

Peter made a sound between a laugh and a snort. "I don't even know where to start," he said. "You know as well as I do how much I'm in shock right now."

Jasper nodded, amusement plainly written on his features. "All right, then. I'll start for you. No, my eyes aren't red anymore," he said, addressing the most obvious physical change. "The reason for that being that I'm no longer hunting humans. Alice and I feed from animals which is what makes our eyes this color."

"And that's possible? Hunting animals, that is?" Peter's voice didn't hold any ridicule, only perplexity.

"It's not easy, and it's not particularly pleasant. But it is possible, yes."

Peter and Charlotte both seemed to contemplate this for the space of several breaths. "Well, whatever you're doing, it seems to be working for you. And I'm glad for that," Peter said sincerely. Even though I knew he still had questions, he didn't push for further explanations. Not now, at least.

"So am I," Charlotte smiled. "Now," she said, her grin widening, "I'm curious. How did you two meet?"

I glanced up at Jasper, letting him make the decision how much to tell them about both our meeting and my second sight. His arm wrapped just a little tighter around my shoulders, drawing me closer into his side.

"After I left you both, I just wandered for a while," he said, his eyes clouding with remembrance. "This little lady found me a couple of years later when I was in Philadelphia." His smile was warm as he glanced down at me.

"So you just happened upon each other, then?" Peter asked, sensing that there was more to the story than that. He knew Jasper too well to think otherwise.

"Not exactly," Jasper admitted. I nodded for him to continue when he looked to me for approval. "Alice is one of the gifted ones," he told them. "She has the gift of foresight. She'd been looking for me for quite some time, and she was there waiting for me."

Both Peter and Charlotte's surprise was obvious even to me. "You're serious?" he asked Jasper. "I've never heard of any of our kind actually having that ability before."

"Neither had I. But I'm glad she did." He pressed a kiss to my hair, regardless of the audience.

"So am I," I said, leaning into him.

Neither of them probed any deeper than that for the moment. They respected our privacy enough not to. Conversation flowed more freely after that, the awkwardness from before eventually melting away altogether.

I found it somewhat amusing that as the three of them continued to talk, they all seemed to slip back into a heavier Southern drawl. Even when I'd first met him, Jasper's accent hadn't been quite that thick, but the time spent with them seemed to exaggerate it. And they all seemed oblivious to it.

As more time passed, I could see that Peter wanted to talk to Jasper alone, he just didn't seem sure how to go about suggesting it. So I did. I asked Charlotte if she'd like to walk with me and give the men time to talk amongst themselves. She agreed, and, with a kiss for our men, we slipped out the door, leaving them to talk without interruption.

Charlotte and I walked in quiet companionship, meandering down the bank of the winding stream behind the house. The silence wasn't awkward. I knew Charlotte, as well as Peter, had a lot to process from what they'd seen in the last couple of days.

She looked over to me after a few moments, a smile playing at her lips. "You're quite the miracle worker, you know," she said. "Peter and I never imagined that we'd see Jasper quite like this. You obviously make him very happy, Alice. And I'm glad he has you."

"Thank you," I said solemnly, stopping my steps and turning to face her.

"For what?"

"For everything you and Peter have done for him," I told her sincerely. "If you hadn't come back for him when you did…" My voice trailed off, and I shook my head at the thought. If they hadn't acted when they did, he would have died soon after. And I would never have had the chance to know him. "Not many people would have done that, but I'll always be grateful that you did. We both owe you so much."

"I never blamed Jasper for what happened," Charlotte said intently, knowing exactly what I was referring to. "Jasper has always been first and foremost a soldier. He was only following orders. And it was because of him that we got away at all. We owed him.

"Peter knew that Jasper's time was limited there. He said that things had deteriorated so much with Maria that he knew Jasper wouldn't last much longer – she'd have found a way to get rid of him before he became more of a liability than the asset he'd always been. We couldn't let that happen."

"It would have," I told her. "I'd started to see flickers of that more often towards the end. If he hadn't ended things himself, she would have. She'd been considering it more and more at the time. And that's all the more reason why I'm glad you went back for him."

Charlotte hummed, not seeming to be surprised by that fact. "Peter's always had a great respect for Jasper," she told me. "And, to be honest, we've both often wondered just what it might be like to see the man he is behind the soldier – the kind of man and the kind of officer he was before Maria's influence.

"Even when we knew him, there was still evidence of it in the little things. Jasper was always a more fair-minded man than was common in that environment. Don't get me wrong, he always demanded complete and immediate compliance when he gave an order, but as long as we were cooperative, he was more inclined to base his judgment on our performance rather than his own whims. He wasn't capricious as most of the others were."

I listened intently as she told me this. I'd seen all of this in my visions, but I was only a distant witness to it. Charlotte had actually been there. She'd been an active participant in things that I'd only seen, and I was fascinated listening to her account of them.

"Peter always said that Jasper was a natural leader – that there was something about him that you just wanted to follow. He wasn't one to ask those under him to do anything he wouldn't first do himself. And, in a fight, he was always there on the front with his soldiers."

She looked over at me and smiled. "Jasper is a good man. He always has been – even when he didn't believe it himself. Hard as Maria tried, she never could quite change that. But you, Alice, you bring out the very best in him, and I can't tell you how happy I am to see that."

"Thanks," I ducked my head, a little embarrassed, not knowing exactly what to say to her frank assessment. As we continued to walk and talk about more trivial things, I tried to block out visions of Jasper and Peter's conversation. I felt like I was eavesdropping. But as attuned to Jasper as I was, it wasn't an easy task to ignore them.

I knew they had things they wanted to talk about, and I knew that Jasper valued Peter's opinion. And I saw enough to make me hope that he really was listening to Peter now. But, wanting to give them the privacy that I'd set out to do in the first place, I tuned out my visions of them the best I could, simply enjoying my conversation with Charlotte for now.

Jasper

Peter and I sat watching our girls disappear from sight. I always felt strangely empty whenever Alice and I were apart now. We'd barely left each other's side for the last two years, and it made me a little anxious whenever we were parted. I knew Alice had managed to keep herself safe for almost thirty years without me looking after her, but it left me restless all the same.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Peter asked, not even trying to hide his grin.

"What's that?"

"The difference just one person can make… how completely the right person can alter your life."

"I know." The life I'd lived before Alice – the man I'd been before her influence – seemed like a different existence altogether. And now, with the one person from that previous life that I'd actually considered a friend sitting here across from me, the differences seemed even more obvious than usual. "Peter, I owe you an apology… a lot of them, in fact."

"No, you don't," he cut me off, shaking his head stubbornly. "The past is the past, Jasper. Leave it be. Neither of us are the same men we were then."

"We're not, are we?" I chuckled under my breath as he voiced the same thing I'd been thinking. "It's funny how quickly things change… how completely our priorities are shifted," I said absently.

"She's good for you, Jasper," Peter's voice was earnest. "I've never seen you happy like this. You finally seem like you're at peace, and I know that's because of her. You, of all people, deserve to have that. Even with this animal thing," he chuckled. "Strange as it sounds, it seems to be working for you."

I snorted as he brought up this new diet, just as I'd known he eventually would. "In some ways," I said. "It's not a particularly easy or pleasant transition to make."

"But you always were worse off after you'd hunted. With your particular gift, I can see why this might be a better option for you."

"It's a tradeoff, I suppose. It feels unnatural," I admitted, being honest with him, "and there's very little satisfaction in it. But it doesn't seem to have the same negative effect on my emotions. So, for me it's essentially a choice between physical pain and emotional trauma. Neither one is a particularly pleasant option.

"I don't know if this is something I can continue for the rest of my life. I just don't know. I don't know if I want to. And Alice can only be as sure about my future as I am. We've just been taking it one day at a time at this point. She's been wonderful about all of this, though. I couldn't ask for anyone to be more understanding and supportive than she is."

"How did she ever think to try something like that? Especially when it goes so much against our instincts?"

"There are others out there, apparently, who live the same way. A family of them, in fact." Peter's eyebrow quirked at the use of that word. "Yes, a family. Alice insists they're not a coven. She saw them shortly after she was changed and knew she wanted to be one of them. She adjusted her diet to fit theirs and then went looking for me, knowing that we were supposed to be together."

Confusion lined Peter's face. "So, she wants…"

"Yes." I nodded, grinning wryly. "She wants us to find them. Do you know how many of them there are living together already?" I asked rhetorically. "Five. There are five of them. Add Alice and me, and you have seven… seven of our kind trying to live peacefully together. I can't think of one instance when that many immortals have been able to exist together peacefully like that. It has the very real potential to end disastrously.

"Alice assures me that they're a peace-loving family. And she's been observing them for years. That's what she wants, Peter. She loves them like her family already even though she's never met them. I know that just from listening to her speak of them. And I'm torn now.

"I know, from everything that's happened in my life over the last few years, that nothing is impossible. As completely as Alice has changed me, is it so hard to believe that this could work out to exceed any of my expectations… is it so hard to believe that this could possibly be a good thing? Alice wouldn't be so set on it if she thought it might not work.

"And then I wonder if it might not be easier for me to live this life if I'm surrounded by others making the same sacrifices. Maybe that kind of accountability would help. I just don't know. But then I look back on my experience, and I can't see how a scenario like that could ever work. It seems absolutely impossible to even consider it."

Peter sat quietly, taking in all that I'd confided to him. "I don't really know what to tell you, Jasper. The only thing I know for sure is that Alice has your back, just like you have hers. It's obvious just from watching her around you that she adores you… the same way you adore her. She isn't going to lead you into a situation that's going to be detrimental to either one of you."

"I know that. And I do trust her – completely – it's just that…"

"It's an unknown," he finished for me. "And it's not something that you can control. That's nerve wracking, I know."

"Always before when I made decisions like this – when I went with you and left Maria, when I took a chance and followed Alice – I asked myself what I had to lose. The answer was always nothing. I had nothing to lose because I had nothing… not my life, not my freedom… nothing.

"That's not the case now. If we go, and it ends badly, I stand to lose everything. If Alice is wrong and we can't live peacefully with them, it would only take one moment gone horribly wrong to lose everything I care about. You and I have seen how quickly that can happen. That's a chance that I'm afraid to take.

"But at the same time, I know this is what Alice wants. How can I deny her something that she desires simply for the sake of my fear. That's not fair to her."

Once again, Peter contemplated what I'd said for a long moment. I didn't really expect him to have any advice, I just appreciated the listening ear.

"Just don't base your decision on your experience, Jasper," he said finally, his voice low and pensive. "Our perception of the world was skewed from the very moment we were changed. Just think about what our reactions would have been ten or twenty years ago if someone had told us we'd be where we are today. We would have laughed and said that was impossible. But it wasn't. We only believed that it was.

"The world isn't anything like we thought it was, Jasper. That's already been proven."

"I know."

"So maybe this is just one more area where we were wrong. But you'll never know until you take the chance. You just have to decide which one you're going to put your faith in – the world as you knew it from Maria… or Alice."

"When you put it that way…"

"It's not that cut and dried, I know…"

"But it's still the truth," I interjected. "When it's all said and done, that's what it really comes down to. You're right."

He let the subject drop then, and the girls came back inside only a few minutes later. Peter and Charlotte stayed for one more day before deciding it was time to move on again. Alice and I followed them out, embracing them warmly. With good wishes all around and a promise to reconnect soon, they were on their way.

Alice and I stood waving as they vanished from sight. She settled back against my chest, resting her arms over mine when I wrapped them closely around her waist. I curved my body around hers, leaning my cheek against her temple.

"I'm glad I finally got to meet them," Alice said with a contented little sigh as I placed a gentle kiss to her temple. "I like them even better in person."

"They loved you," I told her, squeezing her lightly. "But I'm of the opinion that it would be fairly impossible for anyone not to love you."

Alice giggled airily, turning her face to look at me with sparkling eyes. "I think you might be just a little bit biased about that."

"Maybe just a little bit," I admitted, kissing the very tip of her nose. She settled back against me comfortably once again.

With Alice in my arms, I thought back over what Peter and I had talked about. Was I really going to let my fears and possibly my faulty perceptions hold us back from the life that Alice had seen for us? Was I really going to choose to place my trust in something other than her?

It had been a rather eye-opening experience having not only Alice but Peter and Charlotte as well all in one place. I knew that in my human life I had known how it felt to be surrounded by people who not only cared for me but that I cared for as well. I just hadn't experienced it in this life until so recently.

Could I deny Alice the chance to have that herself when she had no memories of experiencing it before? Could I really hold her back from something she wanted so much? To keep her from people that she already loved as her family? As much as I loved her myself could I deny her the chance to be loved by others as well?

I knew now that my fears were the only thing that was truly holding us back. And that wasn't a good enough reason anymore.

"Alice?" I said, causing her to look up at me, a question in her eyes now. "I'll go," I said simply.

She stared at me blankly for the space of a breath. "What?" she stammered, turning in my arms so that she was facing me.

"I'll go… with you to find the Cullens. We can pack up and leave now if that's what you still want."

"Just that easy?"

"Just that easy." I assured her.

"What changed? You've been so opposed to it up to now. I don't understand what happened to change your mind?"

"You've said that this is the path you've always seen for us. You've said that it's what's best. And I believe you. I'm still not necessarily thrilled with the thought of joining such a large coven, but you wouldn't be leading us into this if you thought there was any danger.

"I won't ever get past my preconceptions until I actually try. I've said that I trust you, Alice, and now I'm putting that trust in action."

"You're sure?" she asked, searching my eyes. "You're absolutely sure?"

"I'm sure of you. And that's enough for me."

A brilliant smile spread over Alice's face as she pulled my face down for a warm, enthusiastic kiss. I felt her joy at my final consent seeping into my flesh, further cementing in my mind that I'd made the right choice. I knew this was a risk, but I finally felt like it was one worth taking… especially if it made her this happy.

As it was, we waited a few more days before packing up. Alice wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to change my mind. But I wasn't going to do that to her. She wanted this too much.

Finally, three days after Peter and Charlotte's departure, we packed up our things into two small bags. We didn't take much, just Alice's journals, a few changes of clothes for each of us and various other small items we didn't want to leave behind.

A heavy sense of nostalgia settled over me – both from my own emotions as well as Alice's – when we stepped outside the front door of our home for the last time, pulling the door shut behind us.

Alice and I stood silently side by side for several long moments. This little house was where we'd truly begun our life together, this was where we'd made so many memories that we'd treasure for the rest of our eternity… this had been our little piece of heaven here on earth. And now that we were actually leaving, it was difficult to walk away from that.

"It's just a house," Alice said, trying to convince herself of that, though she spoke with little conviction. "And we can always come back here someday."

"Of course we can."

"I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?" she asked with a trembling voice.

"If you are, then we're being ridiculous together. I'll miss this place too."

Alice laughed shakily. "Two years ago when you saw it for the first time, would you have ever thought you'd be saying this now?"

I chuckled lowly and cupped her cheek with the palm of my hand, "You were right about it… then again, you're always right." I teased, making her laugh a little more genuinely. "But, darlin, everything that's important, we're taking with us."

I wasn't talking about material possessions – not at all – and Alice knew that. The things that truly mattered were things that would go with us wherever the future led – the love that had overcome obstacles that, at first, had seemed insurmountable… the new life that we had created for ourselves… and the hope that Alice's arrival had brought about… hope that brightened each and every day and made the future rich with possibilities.

This first chapter in our life together was coming to a close, and while that was a sobering and poignant thought, we knew it wasn't truly an end. We were simply transitioning from one phase to the next.

"Are you ready?" I asked gently.

Alice took a deep breath and turned her eyes from our little home to focus on mine. "Ready," she said.

Not saying anything else, I smiled then and held out my hand to her. She took it with a knowing smile playing at her lips. Just like that first day in the diner, the moment our hands touched, the moment I felt her little palm slide against mine, a warm current of emotion surged to my heart from her touch. But, unlike before, this time I knew exactly what it was.

It was hope.

It was love.

It was joy.

It was everything good that her presence had restored to my life.

More than two years had passed since the day that she'd first danced into my life… since she'd resurrected my long-dormant heart and made her home there. More than two years since she'd become the one that my whole world revolved around.

Looking back, I couldn't believe that I'd been foolish enough to resist her as long as I did. But I knew now that opening my heart to her had been the single best decision I'd ever made in all my years. From that moment onward, I knew I wouldn't change a thing.

Raising our joined hands, I pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand. Alice was all that mattered to me now. I'd follow her anywhere. And as long as she was by my side, that was all I'd ever need.

There you have it… the final chapter before the epilogue! I'll do my best not to keep you waiting another 5 weeks for that! LOL I'm curious as to whether any of you saw this turn of events coming… I really like Peter and Charlotte's characters so I had to show them some love here. I hope you enjoyed it. :)

It's your turn now to show me some love… hit the review button and let me know what you thought! Thanks so much!

Nik