On my last note – anyone who wants to have Anne as a character – they only need to PM me! I can't be bothered to kill her in this fic and waste perfectly good Jazz and sparrow time! She is NOT worth that!
Thanks again to everyone who is supporting me and this story – I have no words for how much my readers mean to me – ALL of them...Every single one – MWAH!
'I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT...I OWN 'CONSUMED WITH FIRE AND WATER'!
*~~Consumed With Fire and Water~~*
*~Jasper~*
This was my heaven!
Holding my love in my arms tightly the warmness of both our bodies radiating the air that surrounded us...Holding Alice was like a shooting star – it was such a small thing to wrap my arms around her but the feeling afterwards was priceless. There was nowhere else for me – no where else in the world.
"Why didn't you tell me about Bella's abortion?"
Alice's question took me away from the sunniest world that was my love for her back into the dark and uneasy air that was real life....Nausea filled my stomach – I had no idea that Bella would have such courage to tell Alice what had happened to her – for me, it was something that will forever be in my mind because there were some memories...So awful that they blow away all the others and imprint themselves a permenant memory...However in a slight fortunate way I had not allowed myself to bring that memory back to the front again because it still made me cry after all these years – Paul had been such a godsend to Bell but at the time she was alone...I was all she had. My parents were too busy to have very deep and meaningful conversations but in the end, what happened to Bell had been so very awful but a part of me still believed that I was there to help her – in some small way even if the two of us had never spoken about it since.
"Um...I locked the memory away years ago...I am sorry, I didn't want to bring that up – it's not my lace to do so"
"Is it wrong that my view of Bella has changed?"
I ran one of my hands through her hair "that all depends"
"A change in a good way"
"Then no it's not wrong"
"Were you scared?"
"Of course...Like always I feel others pain even if I am not engrossing through pain of my own....Mum has always said that. Bell's my sister – we share blood and you don't know just how much I wanted to beat that guy to the ground...Plummet his face with both of my fists. But what good would that have done?"
"Is there a time where....You wish you and her could talk about it, now?"
"Not really – it would be nice to see whether she had moved on properly from both her ex and his friend but bringing it up...It would be too much."
"I understand that"
"See that is why you are amazing...You understand me"
"Well if someone doesn't understand who the person they love is then it isn't really a relationship is it?"
"I can't really answer that"
"Why?"
"Because this is the first time I have ever been in a real relationship, real as in the feelings are entirely neutral"
"I don't get it though, Jazz"
"Don't get what, sweetheart?"
"How someone as genuine and caring as you has never had thousands of girls fall over him before!"
"You make me sound like I am a god or something"
"You are to me"
"Well...My sparrow, love is blind sometimes"
"I am not blind...I can see what you are – who you are and the way that you and all the members of your family embrace people and welcome them in so easily – how could Anne not have had that?!"
"Only true people get welcomed as a Hale"
"How am I true....Look at where I have come from"
"That has only made you stronger"
"Has it?"
"Yes – all bad experiences make us stronger, sometimes without us even realising it"
Alice twisted her body so that he head was now upright...Her soulful eyes deep into my own as she studied my face for a few moments...Her expression unreadable...Panic surged my stomach slightly...I felt uncomfortable.
"What?" I asked my Alice wearily.
"You know every time I look into your eyes...I see into your soul, the love that exists there – the person you are and it still surprises me that when I look, every new time I do – I fall even deeper in love with you. Does that sound weird?"
"No...Not if you're in love with someone"
"Hmm...Jazz, do you ever think about where we will be five years down the line?"
"There is a definite 'we' down the line, then?" I teased.
"Of course...Where else am I going to go?"
"Back to your family"
"I have no family...At least not family that share the same blood – they all disowned me after finding out about my drug addiction"
"Really?"
"Yeah...Oh shit, I never told you did I?!"
"No"
"Oh...It's nothing...It's all in the past now. All I want now is to hear about our future"
"Erm...Alice, as much thought as I have given it – I don't want to embarrass you"
"How could you ever embarrass me...I am asking you to tell me?"
"Fine...What do you want to know?"
"Will we have kids?"
"In my mind...Two...Two daughters"
"Why two daughters and not one of each?"
"I always pictured myself being surrounded by beautiful women – as much as having a son would of course mean the world...Having women around me is a much better place to be"
"Will we be in the same house?"
"Yes...However, we will have done it up differently with the pay checks we will receive over time"
"I'd do the garden up with beds of Irises and yellow roses come the summer...Have colours taking away the dullness and the dark...Have the grass as green as anything that can be led on as the sun shines on it"
"You have thought about it, too?"
"A little...I mean, I have had the time"
"This is true"
"So will we be married?"
"I don't see us as being married – in all honesty as long as I could spend my time in that house with you until I grow old then, having marriage is not important"
"I feel the same way...I mean, marriage is something that even now I cannot see me doing but as long as you are there – I will be the luckiest woman alive"
"I leave the room for twenty minutes and you still haven't moved?!" Bella's voice filled my ears and I groaned a little.
"Bella" I said not leaving my position on the bed.
"Little brother, I need you to step outside with me..Louise needs to give Alice one last examination before she can leave"
"Fine"
I heard Alice groan as I lifted my arms away from her body and climbed off of the bed altogether...It was relieving to know that she could not stand to be away from me as I did her.
God did I love her...So much!
*~Alice~*
I sat upright watching Jasper turn around and lean down his face close to mine.
"I'll be right back" he whispered in a pure heart-melting voice..The voice that always brought a smile to the corners of my mouth and made me sigh like a smitten teenager in love with the popular guy who will never notice her and yet she seems happy just admiring him from afar and picturing their future in her dreams...So that is what I did.
"Okay" I whispered back putting on a small pout as he chuckled and kissed me once softly on the lips before standing back up and walking out of the room.
Seeing as I was being fortunately discharged today..Jasper had been kind enough to bring me back some of my own clothes to change into...I was going to use the shower down the corridor but I wanted my own products back at Oakton and Jazz loves me, whether I shower later than usual or not so...That was my excuse, anyway.
Being in my own clothes...Comfortableness was my major influence for today – Jazz and I had laid on my bed for most of the morning either in complete silence or embodied in a meaningful conversation. How can he have planned out our future already? He must be really serious about it...At least more than I was as I had only pictured the garden.
What was wrong with me?
"So...Alice...You excited about going home?" Louise asked me as she sat down beside me and wrapped the blood pressure meter around my arm.
"Yes...More than ever" I answered honestly before the wrapping tightened around my arm..I winced a little as it got to the tightest before it went back down again.
"These are just a few routine checks...Just to make sure you don't faint or have a bad fall on the way out"
"I am keeping my fingers crossed for those things not to happen"
Louise chuckled as she read the meter "blood pressure's good...Now lets examine your chest"
Louise took out the equipment from around her neck and held the cold silver plate above my heart area "take a deep breath in" she asked as I obeyed "and out" I complied again. "Everything is fine, there. Now...The walk"
I wanted to groan...My walking had improved a huge amount but I still had a little hobble and I prayed inside that nothing would go wrong with my balance now – not when my home and future were within touching distance.
Louise held my hand as I balanced all of my weight on both my feet and started to walk forward..There was only a small amount of pain where the bullet had entered my leg but it was not the sort of pain that would make me panic or want me to run to find a doctor to treat it. I walked successfully to the end of the room and turned on my heel to walk back to Louise again.
"Very good...You are feeling a little pain, though?"
"Only a little"
"Well...That will go away in time, however to be on the safe side – we will supply you with paracetimol and a walking stick"
"A walking stick?"
"Your injured leg has not held your weight properly enough yet...To keep the explanation off of the confusing medical terms. You do not have to use it but it is recommended"
"Okay"
"But...Apart from that, you are fully recovered"
"Thank you...I should thank everyone who has helped me through all of this..I mean it was unlikely that I was ever going to wake up at all."
"We're just doing our jobs, Alice"
"Well...Jobs that saves lives are the most important."
*~Bella~*
"Why did you tell Alice about your abortion?" My little brother asked as he sat opposite me in the empty corridor outside of Alice's room.
"You remember that, then?"
"Of course...I have never forgotten it"
"It's best if you do"
"So...Why?"
"Alice was going into the exact same mindset as I did during the aftermath – feeling bad about herself, calling herself a murderer for removing an unborn baby she had no control over embodying in her womb in the first place"
"I am not saying that it's a bad thing...Telling her, must have taken real courage"
"Maybe a few years ago...But not so much anymore, I was just pleased that I could relate to something that she has gone through...As you know, I do not deal well with feeling helpless"
"So...The wedding?"
"Under the hat – for now, Paul and I are both more concerned about Alice being back home again and getting well, back to her old self as it were. If anything she deserves to be happy"
"I agree"
"Jasper...I know you are my brother and everything, and traditionally it is mandatory for the best man and the bridesmaid to make a speech but...Would you mind terribly writing a little something for me?"
"A speech about us fighting as kids?"
"Yeah something like that" Bella said with a smile.
"In that case, I'd be honoured"
"Really?"
"Sure...I will make a speech at your wedding if you make a speech at mine"
"Yours?"
"I want to propose to Alice..When everything calms down and she is back to normal...Before you interrupted us – I stated that marriage was not something that was definite in my life path but what am I waiting for?"
"You tell me?"
"Alice is all I want...It would be wrong not to make a lifelong commitment to her..Make it known to a whole congregation and to the high heavens that I love her and I want to stick by her"
"Well...We have a deal, little brother"
"Great" I replied with a smile "so when is Paul coming over?"
"I don't know...Work is busy right now and he has to commit to that"
"You hate being away from him, don't you?"
"Of course...Just like you cannot stand to be away from Alice even when people are trying to do their jobs and examine her one more time"
"Love, eh?"
"Is full of surprises"
*~Alice~*
*(Two hours later)*
The car journey had been draining and the need to be at home...OUR home had increased darastically over the boring trail of motorways and long country roads.
When Jasper stopped the car...Bella climbed out next to me and I was about to climb out myself when my door opened and Jasper had lifted me from my seat and into his arms...Casuing a giggle to escape my mouth as he led me up to the doorstep.
Taking the time to look around our small street once again...Oakton hadn't changed...Others may see it as quiet and dull but to me, it was home...A real home which I had never possessed in all the days of my life.
"Welcome home" my Jasper said as he took me into the living room and up the stairs to our bedroom...I tucked my feet further into my body to fit through the doorway and I was laid down gently onto the soft duvet sighing in relief to feel real covers and softness once again. No wonder I had missed this place so much...It was a part of me and I evidently a part of it.
Jasper leaned down and kissed me...I fought back the urge to wind my hands in his hair.
"Jazz" I pulled my lips away
"Don't pull away from me, Alice" he whispered attacking my mouth again...I whined and used my hands to pull him away from me.
"I need a shower" I stated
"Want some company?" he asked seductively...If I were standing then, a buckling would have been the next thing on the menu but thankfully there was nothing to alarm my limbs at the tone of his voice.
"Of course...But if you join me, I will want you and...Until my leg is better – I don't want to be seduced...I don't want to feel any pain with you"
"Okay, baby...But you know I want to worship you when you are better...The night WILL be yours"
"If it gets you out of my way...Then yes, I know"
I climbed off of the bed and hobbled my way into the bathroom..Not kissing him out of principle – he was not going to have his way with me the entire time we will end up being together again..It will be a shared moment...Much like our life.
*~Bella~*
"Do you ever get the feeling that things tend to go by so quickly when everything is plain sailing?"
"Yes...When everything is bad that is when things go slow" Jasper answered me as he sat down on one of the kitchen chairs.
"So where is your beautiful girl?"
"Having a shower"
"I am sure that you had other plans on your mind?"
"Oh Bell...Enough with the dirty thoughts...The only time you ever have reins on is when Paul is here..No doubt because your needs are being fulfilled by other means"
"Ahh how you catch on to the sex talk fast when you are getting some!"
"Ha ha"
"Oh come on, you have got to give me something juicy"
"I gave you the fact that I will be proposing to Alice...What more do you want?"
"Jazz...You know me"
"Too much"
"Okay...When you are ready to tell me, then you go right ahead"
"Are you staying at the hotel again, tonight?"
"Yes...It is much more comfortable and besides...I do not want to be in the house when things happen between the two of you"
"Like we would do that stuff when you are in the house"
"Wanna bet?"
"Well...When mum and dad were here – we never did it...Stick that in your pipe and smoke it, sis!"
"Oh bro...You know I love you don't you"
"Yes...In a strange way...I love you too"
"Thanks...I think"
*~Jasper~*
*(Fifteen minutes later)*
Bella hadn't stayed round out of principle...At least her principle of allowing Alice and I to have some much needed time together...I had promised myself to keep from being temped by her beauty to not worship her immediately we got into bed together tonight because I had too much respect for her to make her do anything she wasn't ready to do or did not want to do in her heart.
For my sparrow, I would do anything...My need to have her stay in my life was more important than whether I got a release....I was not the kind of guy that only wanted sex...I wanted to make love to girl I adore but that was going to take some time.
I knocked softly on my bedroom door.
"Come in" Alice said from inside as I opened the door and gazed at my beautiful girlfriend running her hands through her moist hair her gorgeous body wrapped up warmly in the confines of her cotton pyjamas.
"Hello" she greeted me with a smile as she closed the distance between us...I stroked her face with my hands – the smell of her body wash and her shampoo filling up my nostrils causing a dryness in my throat.
"You're so beautiful...You smell amazing" I breathed out honestly as Alice stroked my chest with her hands.
"Thank you...Are you ready to sleep in our bed, again?"
"More than ever" I replied...Alice then hooked her thumbs around the hem of my top and lifted it off of my body..As she was doing that I kicked off my shoes and lifted her up into my arms taking her to her now definite side of the bed and pulling the duvet over her.
"Come here" she said as I climbed into my own side...she wrapped one arm around my waist and the other around my head...Her soft fingers stroking the right side of my head...I kissed her forehead as I lay down with her...The duvet the only thing protecting us now.
"Alice...I will never let anyone hurt you, again...I promise you" I vowed
"I know...Jasper, I believe you...For now...I just want to sleep...In our home" she answered snuggling her head into my neck.
Our home?
That sounded SO good coming from her lips.
The reality is true...I was with my sparrow once again...In our very own home.
So...Everything is going to be happy from now on...I am NOT going to say that it is all plain-sailing but then again, real life isn't.
There is a lot of dialogue in this chapter and it is needed just to move on to the final plot of this fic...It is not going to be over YET but it is starting to come to an end.
Thanks for Reading!
.S.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox