[A/N: Hello! Thanks to all of you who are reading. The story has over 7,000 hits. I wish I had more than 59 reviews, but I'm thankful for those of you who have left comments. This is the last regular chapter. I got busy and wrote the epilogue, so that will come tomorrow night. I considered continuing the story, but I feel I got these characters to a good place for me to kiss them goodbye. So…SMeyer owns. I merely corrupt!]

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20. Carlisle

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"God, baby, I love you," Carlisle gasped as Jasper groaned. Carlisle could feel his lover shoot into the condom inside his ass after he'd already come all over Jasper's chest thanks to the younger man's very agile bedroom skills.

They'd been busy all day and Carlisle was happy they were home. It had been one for the books, but they'd done their part for the cause, and the Open House in Brooklyn was going to be handled by Bella, Tia, and Esme. The party on Queen's Way had been great, and the turnout had been surprising, as had been the security.

"Jasper, honey, who are those guys in leather?" Carlisle asked as they were setting up games around the large community room. There were classrooms, but the party was being held in the community room. Everyone was busy working away, and when Carlisle stopped setting up chairs, he saw ten very large men in leather at the back of the room, observing things. He noticed one of them in particular was observing Jessica as she moved around the room in a very tight pair of jeans and a tight t-shirt. The man seemed to be very impressed.

"Oh, those are Satan's Bastards. It's a motorcycle club. They're security," Jasper stated a bit too nonchalantly for Carlisle's taste before he walked toward the back door where a trolley filled with food for the party was waiting.

Carlisle grabbed his hand before he completely got away. "Okay. Maybe a little more information?" he asked, unsure of how the fuck a motorcycle gang was providing security for the opening of a community center for at-risk gay youth, but Jasper was able to work miracles, in Carlisle's opinion, so it wasn't that much of a surprise.

"Remember Felix?" Jasper whispered with a strained look on his face.

"Your cellmate?" Carlisle responded quietly. Jasper nodded and kissed his lips.

"You listen well, baby. Anyway, the one eyeing Jessica is Felix's brother, Dee. I'll go into more detail when we're home tonight, but let's just say Jessica has an admirer and he brought along all those other guys to help out if the religious right shows up to protest."

After that explanation, the events took on a life of their own, and when Esme got up to welcome everyone and thank them for their support, Carlisle was thrilled. Things were coming together in his life in a way he'd never imagined.

"I love you, too, Car. You want something to drink?" Jasper asked as he deftly pulled himself free from Carlisle's spent body.

"Water, please," Carlisle asked as he settled on the bed and pulled the sheet over his body. He remembered the events of the night, and the most surprising was when Riley's doctor, Eliot Banner, showed up. Riley had been quick to introduce the doctor to Lottie Whitlock, and the two of them seemed to hit it off. Carlisle noticed Jasper smiled when he was refreshing the chafing dishes at the party. Clearly, it was a set-up, but as Carlisle observed, neither of the party's seemed to be objecting so he hadn't dared to step in.

When Jasper returned to the bedroom and handed him a glass of water, he sipped it gratefully, noticing the silver band on his left, ring finger. He smiled as he turned to Jasper.

"One of the Bastards asked me which one was mine. I pointed to you and he laughed a little, telling me I was pretty lucky because you were a hell of a guy. Why would he say that?" Carlisle asked.

Jasper giggled, which caught Carlisle by surprise. "That had to be Jared. He seems to have developed a bit of a crush on me, baby. I made sure they saw my ring and I told them we were a couple," Jasper responded.

Carlisle smiled. "Thank you. Now, I have to go into the office for a meeting in the morning, but I'll be home by eleven. Will you be here?"

Jasper laughed. "Every day for the rest of your life." Before Carlisle could respond, there was a tap on the bedroom door.

They pulled the comforter over them before Carlisle responded, "Its open."

Riley opened the door and peeked inside. "Sorry, guys, but can you come downstairs? It's important." He closed the door without waiting for a response.

When Carlisle looked at Jasper, he could see his lover was as confused as he. "I guess we better see what's wrong," Jasper offered.

The two of them quickly dressed in shorts and t-shirts before they went downstairs. They saw Paul kneeling before a kid who was small of build. The hair was long, and Carlisle couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl, but he could see the bruises and blood on the child's face.

Paul was trying to clean the child up, but Carlisle could hear the sobs. "Hey, guys," Jasper greeted quietly. When the stranger turned to face them, Carlisle could see the person had been severely beaten.

"What's going on?" Jasper asked. Carlisle felt his body stiffen, and he knew Jasper was upset.

"This is Lauren. We found him, I mean her, outside of Charles House as we were leaving after clean-up. She was hiding behind the dumpster. Someone thought it would be funny to beat the transgendered kid into the asphalt. She was scared shitless when we found her, crying and shit, sayin' her dad followed her and caught her wearing make-up and high heels. I couldn't call the cops, Pops. It hit too close to home, ya know. DCFS would put her in foster care, and that shit wouldn't be any better than bein' on the streets," Riley told them, clearly from experience.

Carlisle looked at Jasper and saw a tender smile on his handsome face. He walked over to the teen and knelt down. "Hi, Lauren. I'm Jasper. That's my partner, Carlisle. Tomorrow, we're gonna take you to a doctor and get you checked out. If anyone asks who you are, you say you're a Cullen-Whitlock. We won't let anyone hurt you ever again, will we Carlisle?"

Carlisle felt the tears tumble down his cheeks. His life was more than full. He walked over to the girl who still looked scared shitless and smiled as he knelt next to Jasper. "Honey, I'm Carlisle, and no, no one will ever hurt you again."

The child's tears matched Carlisle's, and it was as if the angels had spoken to Carlisle in that moment. Another blessing had come into his life, and he wasn't about to discount it. Life had been good to him in ways he'd never imagined. The gratitude he felt spanned the universe.

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Carlisle felt kisses up his back before he felt goosebumps rise to the surface. The family was at the beach house, and they were going to have a party that afternoon. It would be Lauren's fifteenth birthday, and everyone was going to be there to meet the newest member of the family. The summer had been busy, but with the addition of Lauren to the family, it was amazing.

"We can't just harbor a minor, Jasper," Carlisle had snapped at him when Jasper had suggested they just give the kid a place to live and not report her.

"Carlisle, that poor kid is scared to death. Those bruises are from some rough hands, baby. It wasn't a street fight. Those wounds were inflicted by an adult onto a child. What do you suggest we do? Take her to the police and expect them to treat a transgendered girl with respect and care?" Jasper snapped. Carlisle could tell Jasper wasn't willing to stand by and see the child hurt any more than she'd been in the past. There were, however, concerns in need of being addressed.

"I agree, but I'm an approved foster parent, and we need to be smart about this. I don't want us to open ourselves to anything tawdry regarding our generosity. You can't be too careful, Jasper. We take her in and she makes an accusation we've tried to molest her? We lose everything we have worked hard to achieve. At least let's call a lawyer," Carlisle suggested.

Jasper agreed, so Carlisle called Emily Young, the woman who'd worked with him to become a foster parent for Riley. The story they got from Lauren wasn't new, but it was heartbreaking. Her mother had found her female wardrobe in the back of her closet, along with her make-up. When Lauren told them she was going to a teen event at the community center, her father followed her to the McDonalds down the street where she changed from Quil, her birth name, to Lauren, her chosen name. Her father beat the crap out of her before dumping her in the alley behind the center without money or identification. The story made Carlisle sick to his stomach, but it pissed off Jasper more than Carlisle had witnessed in their relationship.

"Who's your dad? Where's your mom live?" Jasper asked the frightened child.

"I don't wanna see 'em. They don't love me, so I don't care," the girl replied.

After that comment, Jasper had pushed Carlisle to seek guardianship over the teen. The judge had granted it, and that was how Lauren came to live with them. Nobody complained because to the rest of the world, Quil, the boy who identified as a girl and was living as such, was a throw-away kid. But, to the Cullen-Whitlocks, Lauren was a member of the family.

"I'm going downstairs to cook breakfast. The kids want French toast and then they think they're gonna be able to surf. I plan to watch that stupidity from the deck with a Bloody Mary. Can I tempt you to join me?" Jasper whispered as he wrapped Carlisle tightly in his embrace.

"You bet your ass," Carlisle told him as he turned onto his back, pulling Jasper into his arms. They kissed, ignoring the morning breath. Tongues tangled as bodies intertwined such that there wasn't a feather of room between them.

"We can do this for the rest of our lives, right?" Jasper asked as he nipped at Carlisle's neck, thrusting against Carlisle. Two hard cocks thrusting together were bound to get some results, and when the two men climaxed with hard breaths, they both had smiles on their faces. The feeling of being together was incredible.

"Yes, my darling, handsome man, we can do this for the rest of our lives. Our family is amazing. Without you? I have no idea how my life would have played out, but I've seen my future. I'll be a dottering old fool with you leading me around a flea market somewhere, but we'll still be very much in love. Then, after I'm gone, I'll keep a seat for you right next to me. I dreamed it the other night, so it must be true. I love you, Jasper Whitlock. We were meant to be together for the rest of eternity," Carlisle told him as the two of them snuggled together.

Jasper chuckled as he pulled Carlisle closer. "That sounds just about perfect, baby. Forever isn't long enough, but on Queen's Way, not too many people have their dreams come true. I'm glad we did," Jasper told him. Carlisle kissed Jasper as the two lie together for a few more minutes, enjoying the quiet.

Life took unexpected turns but when Jasper's life collided with Carlisle's it was a turn that led down a perfect road, just like the turn their lives took onto Queen's Way. It was a magnificent beginning to the rest of their lives.

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[E/N: So, there you go. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. The epi will post tomorrow night. Thank you for reading. ML]