Morning, all! Here are the chapters of the day:) Thanks to AN Zoriah, .twilight.is.here., tayalysse3, and '-'IncubusHelen'-' for the reviews! See you at the end of chapter 22!

Chapter 21

I stared at her for a minute, sure she was lying. I knew it was impossible that I was actually resistant to human blood. Being a vampire meant that it was my "natural" food source. Then, it started to make a bit of sense. I hadn't even been thirsty yet and I'd been a newborn for five hours. Newborns were supposed to be insatiable their first months of life. This, coupled with the fact that I'd hated the sight and smell of blood when I'd been human, convinced me.

"Holy fricking crap, Batman! This is so COOL!"

I grabbed Alice in a hug, dancing around like a kid who ate a shit ton of cake. We giggled together for a minute, then I spotted Jasper, standing there stoically. I bounced away from Alice, throwing myself at him. My legs locked around his waist and I laid a huge, smacking wet kiss on his lips.

"Jazzy! Isn't this great?! I won't kill anybody!"

I felt shock as he reached around and unlocked my legs, setting me on my feet and staring at me with an unreadable expression. No! My Jasper! Come back… My body froze as he backed away.

"That is just fucking great. Congratulations, Samantha."

I watched him sprint down the hall and heard the door slam as he ran out of the house. My lungs finally regained the ability to move and I took in one gasping breath. Alice touched my arm and my wild eyes spun to her.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I didn't see him reacting like this."

My brain recovered enough to shake my head in denial and tell her it wasn't her fault before I stumbled my way to our bedroom. Not able to bare the settee or the bed, I collapsed onto the floor as soon as I'd shut the door behind me. The way Jasper had looked at me…had talked to me…it was like he hated me. My foggy mind tried to think of a reason for it, but found nothing that made sense.

A knock on the door had me jumping up, ready to defend myself. It opened, revealing Edward. I instantly came out of my stance and once again fell to the floor on my behind. He stared down at me for a second, then crossed the short distance and joined me on the floor. We sat in silence for what seemed like hours. His voice made me jump…again.

"Sam…how much has Jasper told you about his past?"

I looked at him, confused.

"He told me where he lived when he was human, where and how he was turned, and when he found our family…"

"Hmm…all right. That's why his behavior is so confusing for you. Let me explain what happened before you give up on my idiot brother entirely?"

I nodded and he started his story. He told me that the vampire who'd turned him had been power hungry as well as having an insatiable thirst for human blood. Jasper, not knowing any differently, had followed her and lived a life of bloodshed for many years. After a brief explanation of how he'd found our family, he also told me about Jasper's struggle to maintain our diet.

"So…he's still reluctant, then?"

He shook his head and draped an arm around my shoulders.

"No, he just has the most problem with abstaining. When he's thirsty, rational thought is difficult and he can't understand why he has to settle for tofu and vegetable juice instead of having a nice juicy cheeseburger."

"Oh, God…he lives with it daily and I won't have to worry about that at all! No wonder he hates me…I'd hate me, too."

I buried my head in my hands in despair.

"He doesn't hate you, Sam. I know he still loves you. It's just going to take some time for him to accept this whole thing."

"Why does everything have to be so hard for us, Edward?"

He looked into my eyes sadly.

"I don't know, little one."

I buried my face in his shoulder and sobbed.

Emmett had dragged me into the family "game room" to distract me while I waited for Jasper. After losing three times in pool, four in foosball, and once in Guitar Hero II, he gave up and left in a huff. I nearly smiled as I watched his fast retreating backside.

Sighing, I turned to the bookshelf and attempted to find something to read. Ten minutes later I settled for Bram Stoker's Dracula. Amused slightly that a family of vampires owned a copy, I flopped down into the overstuffed chair in the corner and read. Jonathan had just gotten to the Count's castle when I lost my focus. My eyes closed and my head lolled onto the back of the chair.

Letting myself float, I thought about what had happened to me today. Finding out I had what amounted to super powers was a hefty shock and so had my immunity. I nearly laughed out loud when I realized I was a freak among freaks. Well, at least that hasn't changed. Once a freak… I trailed off at Edward's yell.

"Stop that right now, Sam! Don't make me sick Emmett on you."

I scoffed. I just kicked Em's ass, Eddie. You'll have to take me yourself.

"That won't be a problem…and stop calling me Eddie, damn you!"

I smiled. Bring it on, piano man. His laughter echoed through the house.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

I opened my eyes to see Rosalie standing in the doorway, looking hesitant. I sat up and nodded, gesturing to the chair facing mine. When she'd seated herself, I spoke.

"What can I do for you, Rose?"

"I thought you might like someone to talk to since my boneheaded husband abandoned you after his temper tantrum."

I laughed slightly.

"He is a sore loser, isn't he. Um…would you like to watch a movie or…"

"A movie sounds like fun."

"Okay, then. You can pick one…I'm going to go ask Alice and Esme if they'd like to join us, if that's all right."

"Of course…but you can save yourself the trip," she said, pointing over my shoulder. I turned and saw Alice dragging our mother into the room.

"Thanks, Sam. This'll be fun!"

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes and stood, moving to the sofa facing the television. Esme sat on my right, Rosalie on my left, and Alice sat at our feet on an oversized pillow. Feeling sort of content, I watched the opening scene start and felt a sharp jab of pain as I realized what movie Rose had chosen. His words when we watched it together ran through my head: there is a shortage of perfect breasts…rhymed for an entire hour. I felt myself freeze. Esme's hand grabbed mine and squeezed, bringing my attention to her.

"Are you all right, dear?"

I smiled pathetically, squeezing her hand in return.

"I will be. Thank you all for keeping me company."

They all scoffed my thanks, making it clear they wanted to be here with me. I took a deep breath and turned off my brain, staring at the screen without registering what was on it. I was determined to keep myself from making my family miserable along with me. Thankfully, it worked. The Princess Bride finished and I nudged Alice and told her to choose the next movie.

Her choice had me laughing despite myself. I watched the beginning of Monty Python and the Holy Grail and stared at my sister incredulously. This was one of my favorite comedies and I was surprised that the Cullens had seen it, much less own it. I said as much out loud and Alice grinned at me.

"You never know about people's tastes, Sam. I'm glad you like it."

After that, we all fell silent and watched the movie. Laughing my way through the commoner's speech about governmental oppression and Galahad's exploits in the Castle Anthrax kept me from dwelling on the fact that it was now five hours later and Jasper still hadn't come home.

All the guys joined us when we started watching Gone With the Wind. I was again surprised that they owned a copy, but only because I figured Jasper would have already thrown it out…multiple times, knowing the tenacious Alice.

I focused on the movie until the barbeque at the Wilkes' plantation, then I looked around and saw my family, all cozy with each other. Carlisle and Esme were next to me, she on his lap. Rosalie and Emmett had dragged a chair over from the book nook and were in the same position in it. Alice and Edward were lying on the floor in front of me, her head on his chest.

A sudden and nearly unbearable need for the same kind of contact with Jasper bolted through me. I noticed Edward look up at me, clearly hearing my thoughts. I started singing Picture to Burn in my head and slowly rose, addressing the family as a whole.

"I'm going to sit on the porch for a while. I need some air."

I was out the door before any of them could comment. Running out the front door, I came to an abrupt stop in front of the porch swing. Deciding that being rocked might soothe me, I sat down and started pumping, since my legs weren't long enough to touch the ground.

Still singing a random shuffle of songs in my head, I let myself become boneless, my head resting on the back of the swing. My eyes fluttered closed as I listened to the birds settling into their nests for the night. After a while, my senses sort of dulled and I heard nothing but the soft creaking of the swing and felt nothing but the cool breeze blowing over me.

I let myself float like this, preferring the numbness to the ache of my heart and soul, until I felt the swing stop. My senses came back and I felt someone standing over me. Thinking it was probably Esme, I spoke without opening my eyes.

"I'm okay, Mom."

The deep, velvety familiarity of the voice that responded had me reeling.

"It's not nice to lie to your mother like that."

My eyes snapped open and I felt my heart swell and break in the same second when I saw Jasper standing over me. I quickly sat up, scooting to the other end of the swing. I wanted to throw myself at him and never let him go again, so I wrapped my arms around my torso and let my fingers dig into my ribs. I stared straight ahead, knowing my heart couldn't take looking at him while he told me to kiss off. I decided to break the silence that was covering us.

"I've never lied to my mother and never will, thank you very much."

He sighed, sitting down in the space I'd just vacated.

"You would have, if that had actually been Esme. You're lying now, too."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm an empath, Samantha."

Like I'd forgotten. I sat in silence, still not looking at him. After a long minute, he rose, pacing and running his hand through his hair. What's he pissed about?

"Say something, damn you! Throw something at me, scream at me, call me names, just do SOMETHING!"

I looked at him then and saw the anguish in his eyes. I quickly looked away and spoke softly.

"What do you want me to do? It's my fault, not yours. Why should I blame you? That's what you want."

"Your fault? YOUR FAULT? Ugh!"

His outburst had me gazing at him again. I watched as he nearly pulled out his hair.

"Stop…please."

Nothing even close to satisfaction went through me as I heard his whooshing tell. Closing my eyes in relief, I missed his blindingly fast movement toward me. I blinked slowly, like I was just waking up, as his hands held my face.

"How can you blame yourself for this?"

"Because I'm the one with the stupid immunity."

He sighed and his eyes closed tightly as his hands slipped from my face. My skin cried out from the loss of contact. I lost my breath as his eyes opened, zeroing in on mine. They were intense, love and regret and frustration pouring out

"You are not to blame. It is entirely my fault for not being able to deal with this."

I shook my head, this time framing his face with my hands.

"I understand. I would be completely pissed at me, too, if I had to struggle constantly like that and then realize that the person closest to me wouldn't."

His eyes darkened with anger and he pulled back.

"Who the hell told you that?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because I didn't want you to feel sorry for me, and now you do. So, I'm going to strangle the person with my bare hands."

"Absolutely not! I don't feel sorry for you, Jasper. It only helped me figure out what was going on."

"And understanding makes it better?"

"Yes, it does. Can I ask you something?"

He nodded wearily.

"I want you to tell me the truth, please. Are you okay with what I am now?"

"Of course. You not having to suffer means everything to me."

"Okay, then," I said seconds before I pounced on him, melding our bodies and lips together.

My eyes drifted closed in satisfaction and a contented sigh slipped out. I felt his hands pull me closer, then slide slowly down and grip my butt. I moaned and pushed myself into him, my hands burying themselves in his hair as I straddled him.

Both of us froze a second later when we heard a chorus of cat calling and whistles. I looked back to see our brothers standing in the doorway. Annoyed beyond belief, I hissed at them. Thankfully, they got the hint and went back into the house. I looked down at Jasper, who had a goofy grin on his face. I was sure I had a matching one and leaned down to brush my lips against his. In an impossibly fast movement, he flipped us. He broke the kiss and stared down at me, brushing a curl off my cheek.

"I love you, Samantha. Forgive me…again?"

"I love you, too. There isn't anything to forgive, Jazz. There will be if you don't shut up and kiss me right now."

He grinned and complied. I barely noticed when he ran us both inside and up the stairs, finally laying me on our bed. He broke the kiss and moved back about an inch. My torso followed him without my brain realizing what I was doing. His hand gently pushed me back down into the pillows. I felt my breathing hitch as he stared down at me with smoldering eyes.

His desire and love hit me full force then and I grinned through the fog in my head as his lips met mine and his clever hands started pulling clothing off. It's going to be a long night, I thought as my hands pulled at his shirt.

Songs for the chapter: Alone-Heart & Under the Influence-James Morrison