The soft sound of footsteps heading down the stairs made Carlisle turn his head to look into the foyer, from where his daughter Alice was suddenly giving him a 'deer in headlights'- kind of look. In one of her hands she was holding her phone, while her other one was wrapped around a mint green T-shirt.

"Alice, where are you going?" Esme inquired as she got up from the couch, and Carlisle immediately saw how his wife's question made the girl take a step back and swallow heavily.

"I need to... I was...," she stammered and glanced in between them and then at the front door. Her behaviour was peculiar, and the coven leader couldn't help but frown with concern at noticing this.

Just before he could voice his guess as to what Alice had been about to do, Esme spoke up.

"You will not go find Jasper and Maddie. Let them talk in private."

"But I-"

"No, Alice." Esme's voice was firm, the look on her face however, sympathetic and even a little sad.

Alice's face scrunched up. "Mom, you don't understand... I need to tell them something."

Despite the pleading tone of voice their black-haired daughter was using, Esme didn't seem willing to give it much thought. She just shook her head as she leaned against the door frame with her shoulder and gave a mild sigh before she said, "I believe that can wait, dear. Be patient, they will be back shortly, I'm sure."

Alice let her shoulders droop as she looked longingly at the front door, then took a step back and sat down on the stairs. The shirt was put on the step next to her, while she looked down at the phone and ran her thumb over the display like she was waiting for a call. It was obvious that she still wanted to go and do what she had intended to do before she was stopped by them, but her mother's orders effectively kept her from leaving.

When Esme saw that Alice remained inside and didn't give her any backtalk, she pushed away from the door frame and made her way back over to the leather couch to take a seat and continue knitting blue woollen socks that seemed to be Edward's size. Just as her fingers picked up the knitting work, she started to hum a tuneless melody like she had just entered a different world.

Taking his eyes off of his wife and glancing at his petite daughter, Carlisle couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong here. Alice obeying them was no reason to be worried, of course, but seeing her so crestfallen and down was.

"Is there something you have seen?" he queried while taking a few steps toward Alice, who immediately shot up into a standing position and stepped backwards onto a higher step as he drew nearer.

"I see a lot of things," she quickly replied, purposely keeping her answer vague, "I just don't know what's truly going to happen."

Carlisle stopped where he was and squinted his eyes at her as he softly asked, "Anything bad?"

The alarmed expression left her face and sadness took its place. "I'm not sure. Everything will eventually turn out fine, I know that, but I don't know how long it will take."

Carlisle knew his daughter. He knew when something was bothering or worrying her, and this was unmistakeably one of those moments when he felt her uneasiness and could see that her visions must have shown her something unfavourable that she wanted to prevent from happening - or at least influence the outcome to some degree, so that it would turn out less severe than anticipated. "Is there something we can do?"

She shook her head and her eyes turned even sadder. "No."

Seeing her like this broke the leader's heart, but he didn't know how to help her when she said that there was nothing he could do. While he preached his children to be patient whenever something that couldn't immediately be changed bothered them, he himself was having trouble minding this advice at the very moment. The problem was that he couldn't judge the future when Alice was the only one knowing what's going to happen.

"Do we have to be concerned?"

Instead of elaborating what she had seen or why she was feeling so down, she gave her father yet another quite vague reply that only served to confuse him.

"I am concerned...," she said, "you just need to be patient and show understanding."

Then all of a sudden her eyes, as well as her voice, turned pleading. "Please, Daddy, can you do that? You have to try, promise me."

He blinked at her. "Alice, honey, you are making me worried."

She descended the stairs and ran over to him, then got on her tip-toes and slung her arms around his neck. "I'm sorry."

Running his hands up and down her small back, he felt her cold breath seep through his shirt as he told her that there was no need to apologise.

"Will you promise me?" she whispered into his chest.

"Alice, I-" "It wasn't my intention to worry you, Dad, I just need your promise. Please."

His promise.

His promise was the one thing that would help his girl now, and additionally make the potential outcome less grave than what she was fearing it would without it. Of course he would try and show understanding to whoever she was talking about – this was what he always has done and would always do, no matter the circumstances. But that she would ask something of him that should go without saying, made him draw back a little.

"What have you seen, Alice?" he inquired, his voice heavy with worry as his eyes locked onto hers. "Tell me what's scaring you."

Seemingly unable to hold his gaze, she hung her head and took a step back, so that his arms fell to his sides. Not a single word left the girl's lips, and Carlisle started to realise that it just wasn't his time to know. Whether he liked it or not, he had to accept it for now.

"I promise, dear," he eventually stated.

His own words served to calm the man and he forgot all about his worry and confusion as he watched his daughter standing in front of him.

Lifting her eyes until they met his, Alice seemed to zone out for a second before her lips stretched into a little smile and she whispered, "Now I'm not scared anymore."

Maddie's head felt like it was about to burst. Jasper had just affirmed all of her concerns and worries that she had had right after she was changed. All these past years, she had feared that maybe they were true and she had been right after all... but this one time, she actually didn't want to be right. The thought of spending eternity with people who loved her was a lot more pleasant than being forced to stay with someone who only used her and lied to her. It had taken quite some time for her to accept that some stranger had violently taken her choice from her, and the only thing that had made it better was that he had only done so, because he didn't want to watch her die.

Well, now she knew the reason for that.

Maddie felt like the biggest idiot for believing all this bullshit they had told her over the years... lies about love and a happy life. Maybe she deserved all this for being so stupid.

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jasper shift his weight, and suddenly realised how late it was and how much time had passed since she had run. It was probably almost midnight by now - she had missed all of her favourite TV shows.

That thought helped to distract her for a moment, but the feelings of betrayal and pain found her again.

She sniffed, and promptly had a hand rub her shoulder.

"Stop that," she hissed when she felt her mood lighten and the painful feeling of her heart constricting being lifted as well. She didn't want to feel better, because there was no need to feel better. He'd just told her that her entire existence was based on nothing but lies! And even the people she thought she trusted right from the beginning had been lying to her by keeping this 'tiny' little fact from her.

"I don't want you to suffer," he told her and buried his hands in his trouser pockets.

Unable to control her emotions at the moment, she started to fume at his statement. "It's too late for that now, isn't it? I knew it, I fucking knew it... God, I'm such an idiot," she growled and kicked at a cone lying on the ground right next to her feet to send it flying into the night.

"Mad-," he started to say, but she interrupted him almost instantly. "And now I'm supposed to go back to that asshole and pretend I'm okay with him using me?!"

"We have to go back," he said, sounding extremely calm but at the same time oddly urgent.

Her jaw dropped and she gasped for breath. "Why?!"

She couldn't think of just one good reason why she would have to go back. There was nothing that bound her to Carlisle, that she couldn't live without... she didn't need money to feed herself, she wasn't dependent on having a roof over her head. She could find her way around the area, around the state, the country, the continent. She didn't need to fit in anywhere – not that she ever felt like she truly has had any friends her age in this 'afterlife'...

Maybe she was better off alone, and if someone would ever grow suspicious, she would just make them forget.

Too bad that she wasn't granted the luxury of forgetting in this life, but was doomed to slowly forget whatever had influenced and shaped her character during her human life. Good times and bad times, her family and friends, her entire childhood... it was like watching sand slipping through an hourglass.

Who knew, it could all be gone in a few years and then she'd only be a shadow of her former self. That was something she couldn't change – what she could change however, was her future: She was determined to not let Carlisle turn her into the person he wanted her to be.

Anything was better than than that.

Jasper's voice suddenly cut through her thoughts. "It's where we belong," he said.

"I don't think so," Maddie scoffed in response, then used the sleeve of her sweatshirt to mop up another tear that had just spilled over. "I'm never going back."

Her unwillingness obviously bothered him, because he didn't accept her replies but instead tried to remind her that she basically had no choice.

"Didn't I tell you what happens when you leave a coven, but your coven leader doesn't allow you to leave?"

Are you serious?!

"If he doesn't let me go, I'll make him kill Esme," she stated with a growl and shrugged her shoulders once, like that would be the logical solution to their problems. He gave her a look like she had officially lost her mind, which she of course noticed.

"What?" she asked. "You said blackmailing is an option, and he wouldn't risk losing her, right?"

He quietly groaned. "Maddie, be reasonable, there is no need for this. And besides, he wouldn't fall for that – your don't want to see Esme dead and he knows it."

"So? I'm a stupid kid – act first, think later. He won't risk it, wanna bet?"

She saw him swallow hard, then look away from her as he seemingly needed a moment to mull things over.

"That way you can leave too, and he won't beat you," Maddie added, trying to be helpful, and blinked at him as he didn't say anything for way too long. "Problem solved."

That was their way out – so simple, quick and easy. Besides, she wouldn't have to be alone and Jasper wouldn't have to suffer for helping her.

But he only shook his head and sighed. "Running doesn't solve anything, Maddie."

"Yes, it does!" she retorted, giving him a look of sheer exasperation. Why stay with a manipulative bastard who's going to seriously beat the shit out of you, just because he doesn't like that you're actually doing the right thing? Nobody deserved that kind of treatment and she was not going to hang around and wait until it was her turn to feel the man's wrath.

Again, he didn't agree with her. "That way he'll know that I've told you what he's keeping from you."

"So? That won't matter, because we don't have to answer to him anymore. Call Alice and tell her to pack up." She stood there, looking at his trouser pocket, expecting him to pull out his phone and give his wife a call.

He shook his head.

"No. You need to understand that I didn't tell you all that with the intention of leaving our coven."

"Then why did you tell me how I can leave a coven for good and how to hurt someone?" she queried and tilted her head to the side, watching him. Jasper confused her, now more than ever.

"Carlisle is no worse than any other coven leader."

"We don't need him, and I'm not going to join a stupid coven ever again," she growled out, angered by his calmness and his stalling.

"Covens are-" "I'm fine on my own, I don't need anyone."

Now Jasper was growing impatient with her, which she noticed with satisfaction, because she was growing impatient with him as well.

"And what about Rose and Emmett?" he asked and wiped a strand of hair out of his eyes. "Do you really want to leave and never see them again?"

Huh?

"I..."

No... no, she didn't like the thought of losing everyone. She just wanted to get away from Carlisle, and Esme for that matter, but that didn't mean she would be okay with having to leave every single person behind. Well, all of them had basically lied to her by keeping information from her... but maybe it wasn't their fault. Maybe Carlisle had forced them to lie to her, and so they didn't have any other choice but to do as he told them.

"I'll just ask them to come with us," she said determinedly and gave a nod.

"I'm not going to leave, Alice doesn't want to leave and I'm sure that neither Rose nor Emmett want to leave. This is were we belong," he said slowly like he was talking to a very stupid child.

"Suit yourself," she snorted, then turned around and started to walk away. She had no idea where she was going and what she'd be doing there, but she knew that she couldn't endure the thought of staying wherever their father was.

Now his patience snapped. "Hey, you're not going anywhere, come back." His voice was firm and authoritative, and Maddie could practically hear him putting his hands on his hips.

"No."

"Don't be so impulsive. Let's sit and talk," he said a little softer now, making her whip back around and glower at him.

"We just talked!" she suddenly yelled, her voice still thick from tears and her dark eyes gleaming angrily in the moonlight. "I'm sick of talking and I don't wanna hear any more! All I want is to get away from here as far as possible and never look back."

"Mad-"

"Are you coming?"

He looked at her like he really wasn't comfortable with the situation, but her determination didn't waver. In fact, it only became stronger while her eyes bore into his, waiting for him to make up his damn mind.

Eventually, and after seemingly forever, he started to move towards her. Maddie didn't know if he would truly come with her or just trail after her for a while so she wouldn't be on her own and get lost or something, but she didn't care. Jasper wasn't the threat here – Carlisle was.

Turning around, Maddie continued walking again, and just as she wanted to break out into a run, Jasper's voice sounded over to her.

"Wait up."

"We need to hurry," she shot back over her shoulder and shook her head at seeing that he was moving with the speed of a sloth.

"Maddie, it isn't that easy. Let me explain."

With a loud groan she turned around, now walking backwards. "Yes, it is," she hissed through gritted teeth. "And if you're not coming with me, I'll just leave on my own."

"Stop thinking about running away, I thought you realised that you cannot fight. What if you run into someone?"

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

Maddie really didn't care who she'd meet on her journey, as long as it wasn't Carlisle.

"That's too risky. And where are you headed anyways?" He tried to make her slow down and listen to what he had to say, or at least take a moment to think things through – peculiar how he suddenly didn't bark orders at her like he usually tended to do.

She walked slower now, but still wasn't willing to halt and waste time talking about everything. "Anywhere is better than here."

Jasper squinted his eyes at his sister, and suddenly she stopped where she was. Then after a moment, she took a step back and crossed her arms.

The look he gave her and his question about where she actually wanted to go made her a little uncomfortable. Being alone wasn't exactly what she had wanted for herself and her future, but she figured that it couldn't be worse than staying with a dirty liar.

"Maybe I'll find Edward," she said out loud, but that little flicker of hope was crushed by her brother's response in the blink of an eye.

"I don't think that you will. You don't strike me as a good tracker and in order to trace someone, you also need to know how to cover up your own tracks."

She opened her mouth to return something, but then figured that what he said didn't deserve a reply.

Her silence and the stubborn look on her face made him groan, and he tiredly rubbed a hand over his face.

"Your smell is all over the place now, especially since you stomped through your own sick. Carlisle will find you before you even have the chance to make a decision in which direction you want to take off."

Looking down at the ground and checking the soles of her feet, she distorted her face and hung her shoulders.

Great, another thing she sucked at. This life was getting more complicated by the second... still, she wouldn't give up just yet.

"I'll take my chances."

His face was unreadable, but Maddie knew that he wouldn't stop pestering her. He was convinced that running away would end in disaster, but he'd just have to accept that she was not going to stay.

"How about Alaska?" he suggested after briefly clearing his throat.

Her eyes widened for a moment, but she quickly caught herself and coughed instead. "No way," was her reply, and she tried her hardest to make it sound like his idea was just plain stupid.

"Wouldn't you like to see Tanya and Carmen again?"

Well, she would love to go back to Denali and stay there... it just wasn't possible. "But they have to listen to Carlisle... they'll send me back."

His brow furrowed. "Why would they send you back when Carlisle is allowing you to stay at their place? And no, they don't have to listen to him. He is not head of their coven, and so he cannot force them to do anything that they don't want to do."

And just like that, she felt her confusion peak and instantly gaped at Jasper. "Are you kidding me?! You said that-"

"Maddie, there is no need to go over that now."

That did not answer anything, and that's why Maddie just stood there, waiting for him to explain.

He sighed. "If you'd leave Carlisle's coven, you're no longer his charge. That way he cannot make any decisions about you, where you are or anything else regarding your life. But I want to remind you that there's really no reason for leaving."

Maddie felt her surprise give way to relief and knew Jasper would be able to feel it as well.

"Really?" was her whispered question as she was hoping it would be the truth. "I'd be free?"

He nodded. "It's true, no one has authority about anyone who's not part of their coven."

And despite everything he had just told her a mere few minutes ago, she felt the corners of her lips twitch. The thought of not being manipulated and having rules to follow that were only set in place first and foremost for someone else's well-being, the thought of being free of all that, appealed to her more than anything at the moment.

"Are you willing to listen to me now?" he asked. "Everything needs to be planned out, you cannot just bolt now and hope for the best. There are more than enough dangers out there, so take a moment and think things through."

"We still need to get away from here, so stop stalling! We cannot waste any time, Jasper!"

He waved her objections off and was as calm as ever. "You said you'd just blackmail him, that gives you all the time in the world."

Maddie thought about that and realised that he was right – that she was right. This factor, the possibility of forcing Carlisle to let her go, gave her more than enough time, because she could leave whenever she wanted. She didn't have to flee from him - she could just pull the killing-card when she felt like it and he'd have no other choice but to watch her leave. Not that she was really interested in seeing him again and having to listen to his lies and attempts to make her change her mind, but that was a problem she could deal with at a later time.

Wiping her arm over her face one last time to remove any remnant traces of her breakdown, she gave a nod. "Okay, let's make a plan."

Jasper suggested they sit down on the boulders by the river. The gurgling of the water was calming and the background noises would make it harder for anyone to overhear them. Not that there was Carlisle or Esme nearby, but the added security measure helped Maddie to relax some more.

Now she was willing to listen to Jasper's idea, that unfortunately involved them going home again.

"But I don't want to!" she argued, and while she tried to sound determined, her voice came out as a whine. "I told you I can't!"

"Hey, stop yelling right now. Let me explain."

"But-" "Once you know my plan you can argue, but not a second sooner, understood?"

Gulping, she hesitantly nodded her head. "Fine... what is your plan?"

He looked at her a moment longer, to check if she would indeed remain quiet and let him explain, then gave a satisfied nod. "First and foremost, Carlisle is not supposed to find out that I ignored his orders, because it would make it exceedingly more difficult for me to train you. You agreed to keep this from him."

She hung her head and didn't argue.

"The reason why I told you wasn't because I want to make you leave – I want you to learn how to fight, how to defend yourself and protect others. That's only possible if you know more about our kind and the dark, deceiving and selfish characteristics that we are all carrying in us."

"You said I cannot hurt him, so why would fighting-"

"What did I just tell you, huh?" he asked impatiently and gave her an exasperated look. "Be quiet and listen."

When she nodded her head again, he went on.

"I want you to know what's out there and understand why our kind acts the way it does and why we are different. That is what's important here and what you should be concentrating on - not dwelling on the circumstances of your transformation. And I'm not talking about you fighting Carlisle, but about fighting in general."

"Jasper...," Maddie tentatively said to check if it would be okay for her to say something now.

"Yes?"

"How am I supposed to learn how to fight when Carlisle doesn't want me to?"

"That's what I was just trying to tell you: I'll train you when he's not around."

"How about we leave? Then he definitely won't find out, or at least it won't matter."

Her plan was better than Jasper's, she knew that it was, but he just released a frustrated groan and snapped, "No. No matter how you feel about him right now, we are still much safer here than anywhere else."

She frowned at him. "I thought you were a soldier, you know how to fight."

"That doesn't mean that I want to give up all the conveniences we have grown accustomed to. This life is a lot more comfortable and so much more calmer than if we were to roam the country and fight about every little thing. We don't feed on humans, there is no need to run the risk of getting attacked just because a few nomads think we are after their prey."

Sure, he did have a point, but Maddie didn't see why their lifestyle and the 'vegetarian' diet was only possible under Carlisle's lead. They could succeed on their own, she knew they could. "Then we'll just settle down somewhere. We can lead the same life, just without getting used and lied to."

"And what kind of story are we supposed to tell the humans that surround us? There are going to be too many questions, people will ask about our family, what has happened and so on. Plus, neither one of us looks old enough to be your guardian. I don't want to have to deal with CPS, just because they think we need help raising you."

"We'll just pick a human couple," she replied. "I make them think we are their nieces and nephews or something, and then no one will ask questions. Easy-peasy."

"That's not easy-peasy," he said after giving a short growl of annoyance and frustration. "You'll constantly have to alter their memories, because we won't act human all the time, especially not when we are home. Then we'll be surrounded by their human smell, and sooner or later one of us will attack them. Face it, it's going to be too difficult for us to maintain a cover, because you cannot fully control what they might say about us when we're not around."

"Um, yes I can," she argued and rolled her eyes.

With a huff, he scooted closer to her and raked a hand through his blonde mane. "No, you're not even in full control of your ability, it just wouldn't work," he told her, trying to make her understand. "We'll never be able to relax and feel at home when we're constantly running the risk of getting exposed. Carlisle has spent decades trying to find a believable and safe cover story, and this is the one that works best for us."

"For him, you mean."

"Yes, for him. But for us, too. Quite frankly, this way of living spares us a lot of confrontations with other vampires – however, there is always the possibility of getting attacked and that's why all of us need to be able to fight."

It was quiet for a little while as Maddie contemplated what he had said and Jasper granted her the time she needed. She figured that he probably was right about a few things, but there was still something that she didn't quite understand.

"Why do you want to stay when you know what he'll do when you get back?"

"I've been in trouble with him before," he told her. "He's not going to kill me, and while I still think I've done the right thing by pointing out what he's been doing wrong, I maybe should have tried to control my temper. I was aggressive towards him and very disrespectful, and that's something a coven leader won't tolerate."

Hm.

Picking up a flat stone, Maddie held it in between her fingers before she flung it into the running water, all the while thinking about what Jasper had just told her. He was still willing to submit to their leader for being disrespectful, even though Carlisle didn't deserve any respect after what he had done to all of them. He had purposely made her dependent on help, made her the weakest link in their armour – a course of action that could cause deaths. No matter what anyone would tell her, if someone would die protecting her or because she failed to help someone else, she'd feel responsible for that and carry that burden until her own death would take her from this world. She would be forced to look into the eyes of the widow or widower and endure their silent accusations, and they would be forced to live with their loss for the rest of their existence.

That wasn't some noble act – it was disgusting and cruel. Jasper was bending to the commands of a tyrant, and Maddie just couldn't see why.

"I don't want to go back."

He threw his hands in the air. "And I'm not going to let you leave on your own. That's too dangerous."

"Well, you don't have a choice, because you said you want to stay," she pointed out with her index finger directed at him.

"Maddie, why are you planning to leave when there is no reason for it? Everyone was changed for selfish reasons, that's something you just need to accept and move on. The fact that you don't know how to defend yourself is the real problem here, and leaving the safety of a coven just because your feelings are hurt is plain stupid."

Her eyes narrowed. "Shut up, I can do whatever I want."

"Good God, stop being so stubborn - it'll only get you killed."

She didn't say anything in return, just crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the water that looked almost black in the darkness.

He released an exasperated sigh. "Where is your phone?" he asked, making her eyes instantly go wide before she turned her head to look the other way.

"So?"

"I threw it away...," she replied half-apologetically. "He tried to call me when I had smelled the cougar, so I threw it away."

It was obvious from the look on his face that he wasn't impressed with her way of handling things, but he referred from voicing his thoughts and just went on. "We need to find it and then we'll make a few phone calls."

"Why?"

"Do you trust me?"

The question hung in the air, making both of them visibly uncomfortable. At the moment Maddie didn't know if she trusted him, or anyone else for that matter, and she wasn't sure if this was really the right time to ask her something like that.

"Um..."

He had gone against Carlisle's wishes and told her the truth, but still... "I'm not sure," she uttered apologetically.

Waving his hand, Jasper signalled to her that she shouldn't worry about it and that there was no need for her to feel bad.

"I promise you that you can get away from Carlisle and Esme without them chasing after you or the like, I'll help you with that, but you have to come with me and pretend that I've never told you anything."

Being constantly torn between feeling whiny and angry, she now felt like whining some more. "I don't wanna see them."

"It's just for a few minutes and then you can leave for as long as you wish without them being suspecting. Take the time to calm down and make up your mind whether you want to stay or leave."

"But...," she started to argue, then changed her mind and released a heavy sigh. "Jasper... I'm scared."

He leaned back a little, confused by her words. "Why?"

"If I muck up, he'll know what you've told me and I don't know what he'll do to you. He's already mad at you and I don't want to make it worse."

"Are you saying you're scared for me?"

She bit her lip and looked away - Jasper seemed to have a hard time believing it, but she was being honest.

"Why?"

Hesitating for a moment, she then drew a deep breath and explained. "You are in trouble because of me, and if I say something wrong, he'll hurt you... I mean, really hurt you, and it would be my fault."

It didn't fit the situation, but Jasper laughed all of a sudden. "I got myself in trouble," he explained to her, "and I know you can pretend like nothing has changed between you and Carlisle. If it doesn't work, well, that would be my problem and not yours. Don't be scared."

His words soothed her worries some, but they didn't manage to wash them away completely. She couldn't allow herself to mess up, as she already felt guilty enough for bringing Carlisle's ire upon her brother. Sure, it wasn't her who had yelled at Carlisle and disobeyed him, but hearing what exactly Jasper had found out made her feel obliged to keep this secret a secret. Jasper shouldn't get beaten for telling her something that was her right to know, and if she'd stay, she wanted to learn how to fight and be less of a burden.

"I always thought you are against lying," Maddie commented.

"I am, but keeping the knowledge of self-defence from you and therefore endangering all of us is by far a greater injustice than just pretending to have followed his orders. And all you have to do is act natural around him, like nothing has changed."

Her stomach churned as a sense of fear crept upon her again at hearing what she'd have to do in just a little while. "How?"

"You know how, it's just like pretending to be human while amongst humans." When she just looked at him, scared and unsure, he gave her a different advice that he must have figured would be easier for her to follow. "Fool him as a way of getting back at him."

That made her freeze for a second as she thought about it, before she slowly started to nod her head. Getting back at him... she liked the idea of revenge, but actually didn't think that pretending to like him would be a fit measure to let him feel what she thought of his lying ass.

"I'll try."

A sense of calm washed over her, and Maddie wasn't sure if it was Jasper's doing or just her own determination not to fail him that brought this sensation. Nevertheless, it eased her worries and made her feel better.

"Hey... will you really show me how to fight?"

She could see him nod and even thought that he was smiling a little when he replied, "Yes, I will. But first, let's find your mobile and arrange a few things."

He pulled his own phone from his pocket and dialled her number, hoping that that way they'd be able to find it quicker.

And that's chapter 13. It's longer than I thought it would be, but I hope you don't mind :-P

Now... I have to admit that I'm not sure how to continue. Initially I wasn't planning to write the impending talk between Carlisle and Jasper, but a few of you have already told me that they'd like to read it and so I decided that if I'd write it, I'd make it an Outtake, because I thought it wouldn't fit into this story. While writing this chapter, I realised that it would actually fit in quite nicely... and it would add a few more chapters to this story.

And that's where you guys come into play ;) Talk in Carlisle's study - yay or nay?

Let me know what you think and thanks for reading and leaving a review!