I flew behind the house like a shot from a gun, my feet hardly touching the ground as I moved. I threw open the wooden door of the stable, ignoring Trouble's hungry whinnies, and grabbed the steel shovel from where it hung on a peg in the wall. By the time I ran back to Maria's dusty X, she had disappeared. For her own good, I thought, or else she'd have this shovel shoved right down her throat.

I began digging like a madman, the dry dust giving way to rich topsoil underneath, dirt flying every which way as I continued. My inhuman speed and strength made it easy work, and I stopped after a few minutes when my shovel touched something hard only a few feet down into the earth. I crouched on the ground, digging furiously with dirt-caked hands to unearth whatever it is my spade had touched. I made certain it wasn't skin before I continued digging. It was the same dark brown color as the earth, hard and rough to the touch, and I had to get it about half uncovered before I realized what it was.

A coffin.

"Jasper!" I screamed, clawing at whatever my hands could reach, dirt or wood turning to pulpy masses between my palms. I scraped the last remnants of soil off the top of the coffin, mangling the lock Maria had placed there as a last resort, and throwing the lid open.

My first fear upon seeing Jasper was that Maria had succeeded, that he was lying dead in his coffin. His skin was thin and ashy, his darkly-shadowed eyes closed serenely, and he was cold enough that even I felt a chill when I touched him. Please, Jazz, please don't leave me, I begged him silently. If he was gone, if I had gone through all this trouble only to have him-

"Alice…"

His voice was no louder than the wind and it still made me tremble. I leaned closer, taking his fragile face in between my hands.

"Jasper, speak to me," I pleaded. "Are you all right?"

His still-perfect lips moved, struggling to make sound. "Alice…blood…"

I jumped to my feet, looking around me for the animal that would bring my Jasper back to me. It would have to be large; he had been starved for so long, a great deal of blood would be needed. I concentrated hard, searching for what I would do and where I would find the beast…human, even, if I had to…and was startled to see what my mind told me I needed to do.

"I'll be right back, Jazz, I'll go get you…get you what you need." I stooped to press my lips to his forehead before running off to where I knew his resurrecting meal would be waiting.

Trouble stared at me with calm, dark eyes as I entered the stable, her gaze so trusting that I had to look away. Holding my breath, I opened her stall with shaking hands, fitted the bridle around her head, and led her out of the shed, trying not to look back as we walked to where Jasper lay still in the ground.

With gentle pressure, I forced Trouble to a kneeling position on the ground, arranging her so that her vein-filled neck was just above Jasper's mouth. I waited for him to reach up, to take the delicious-smelling bait, but he did nothing, just lay there too weak to move.

"I'm so sorry," I whispered to the horse. Just when I had been getting used to her…but no, I couldn't think about that right now. This was a hunt, just like any other hunt, but with a much greater outcome.

Closing my eyes tight, I dipped my head underneath Trouble's throat, snapping my razor-sharp teeth to a throbbing vein. The warm blood began pouring into my venom-filled throat and I pulled away. Keeping a strong hold around her struggling equine form, I positioned her so that the blood seeped out of the gaping wound I had made and dripped down to fall on Jasper's half-opened lips. A few seconds passed before Jasper sat up like a shot, and hooked his teeth into her soft flesh, his eyes fiercely hungry as he gulped each drop that emerged until the horse's corpse collapsed on top of him. I had to shut my eyes again to move it, opening them only when I knew what remained of Trouble was a few good feet away from us.

Jasper sat up in the coffin, his lips, chin, and shirtfront all stained a dark red. I ignored the mess and put my hands on the sides of his face, inspecting his every pore, making sure he was better.

"Are you all right?" I asked for the second time that day, my voice catching with emotion as I spoke.

"Alice…." Jasper replied in the same way he had before, only this time he followed it up with a kiss, crushing his blood-coated lips to my own. I tangled my hands in his long blond hair, half-choking under the force and emotion of our embrace. He is fine, he is fine…my heart, my brain, something other than my visions had told me he would be, but to have him back with me was the perfect confirmation of the fact. I could taste the life-giving blood on his mouth, a delicious flavor that was nothing compared to the tantalizing aroma of the man in my arms. He was here, strong and perfect and whole once again. I was whole once again.

I took his hands in mine as we parted. "Come on," I said, pulling him up, "get out of that thing."

Shakily, Jasper climbed out of the coffin and onto solid ground. "I'm still a little weak," he mumbled, leaning on me as we walked towards the house.

"I'll carry you inside if I have to," I offered, trying to sound bright. He smiled wanly and waited while I opened the door. "Go sit on the couch, I'll be right back."

He gave me a quizzical look but went inside, using the doorframe as a support. I shut the door behind him before hurrying back to the hole in the ground that had been his prison for the last two days, picking the coffin out of it and throwing it into the sky. I couldn't see where it landed, I threw it so far, but I could faintly hear the smashing crunch the wood made, and that was satisfying. The shovel was still nearby, and I dug the hole a little deeper before depositing Trouble's body in it and filling it back up with dirt.

"I'm so, so sorry," I said again to the dirt mound that was the animal's final resting place. As much as I hadn't liked her at first, as much as I wanted to attack her myself at times, she was still Jasper's pet and a part of our life together. I shook my head sadly. Never again would I have a pet, and I didn't need a vision to confirm that thought.

Setting my shoulders back, I walked back to the house, determined to forget all the horrible happenings of the past few days and focus only on my Jasper, making him well, and savoring the time we had together now which, hopefully, was the rest of eternity. I opened and shut the door silently, tiptoeing into the house with a dancer-light step.

Jasper was lying stretched out on the sofa, his too-long legs making his feet dangle over the edge, one arm slung over his eyes to block out the sunlight streaming in from the half-curtained windows. He had gained back his proper pale color; the yellowish tint had left his skin completely and he looked much healthier as a result. The dark circles under his eyes had almost faded away – one more hunt would clear them entirely. I sat on top of the coffee table, drawing my knees in and tucking them under my chin to watch him more carefully. He looked so peaceful and handsome, I felt blessed to even draw in the same unnecessary air as him. His hand shifted as he moved, and the thick gold band around his left ring finger caught the sun, glimmering. My mind settled as it shone brightly, and I knew somehow that everything would be all right. Jasper's eyes locking with mine confirmed that thought, his beautiful, glowing, amber-colored eyes pouring into my very soul, repeating every single thing I knew without having to utter a single word.

"I…I don't know what to say."

Jasper broke our shared silence. I reached out for his hand, and he gratefully met it.

"You said something like that when we first met," I replied with a soft smile, "and look at us now."

"You saved my life then too," he added.

I shrugged. "I suppose, in a different sort of way."

Jasper gave a funny, caustic sort of laugh. "I don't want you to have to save me all the time. That's what I'm supposed to be doing, isn't it? Protecting you, keeping you safe."

I shook my head, dropping to my knees on the ground so that my face was level with his on the sofa. "Is that some sort of gallant, Southern-gentleman, misogynistic twaddle you've dreamt up? Because as far as I know, a relationship is supposed to be two sides working together, each one saving the other, two halves of a whole."

"Two halves of a whole," he repeated. "I like that. As if I'm not…no, I am not complete without you."

He pressed my hand to his mouth, and I closed my eyes to savor the feeling of his velveteen lips gliding over my knuckles.

"You are everything I am, Alice," he murmured against my hand. "Everything that is good in me is because of you. You…you are the angel sitting on my shoulder."

"Does that make Maria the devil?" I couldn't help throwing in a mischievous grin.

"Very much so," he replied, smiling slightly. "When Marlene's little boy was…I knew, deep down, that it was her. No one else would do something so heinous, unless they were a newborn, and who was around to create one except us?"

I didn't answer, only sat back to listen to his beautiful bass as he continued.

"And then she came with that pathetic excuse for an army, and I was so surprised that I could hardly fight back. I tried, really, but José and Daniel…they're not newborns, they knew what it was about. They had me, and I knew that meant that they had you too, so I went along with everything they said, hoping it would ensure your safety – it did, didn't it? They didn't hurt you?"

I shook my head. "No, love, I'm fine."

"Listen to me jabber on while you might be sitting here hurt," he scoffed.

"Jazz, really, I'm fine," I insisted. "All that matters is that we're here now, together."

"Together." He sighed. "That's why I did everything, you know. So that there might be a chance we would stay together, even if she made us fight."

"That's what she promised me, remember? If I came willingly, we could still speak to each other," I reminded him and made a face at Maria's ridiculous demands.

Jasper laughed, a glorious sound. "As if speaking to each other would ever only suffice." He reached out to push a lock of hair behind my ear, his fingertips lingering on my cheek, drawing invisible swirls and patterns near my ear and along my cheekbone.

"I was almost willing to go along with her orders, if it would keep me close to you," I managed to whisper through the breathlessness his motions were causing.

"But you saw how that would have ended up," he said. I nodded, barely moving my head so that I wouldn't disturb his fingers.

"That vision is what saved us," I said proudly. "I told Maria that whatever she did, she would lose us. And then…"

"And then?"

I took a deep breath of air. "And then she told me to come up with a vision to get her back her land or she'd take you away. I had no idea where you were or if you were safe, I had to do it."

His hand stalled on my face. "I couldn't have left you, you must know that."

"I know," I replied, "but I didn't know where Maria was hiding you. Charlie was blocking my visions and she wouldn't tell until I gave her what she wanted…my servitude and my imminent death or a vision that would give her back her power."

"And I assume you had that vision?"

I nodded, saying nothing.

"Alice." His voice was soft and encouraging as his hand moved to cup my chin, drawing my face up, our eyes locking. "Tell me."

It wasn't a command, but a request, one I could comply to with his support helping me.

"I saw someone who would help her, a man who would have a gift," I began.

"That man is…?"

"That man was Phil Crawley," I answered, a trifle bitterly.

Jasper stayed silent, reaching out with both hands to scoop me up and lay me on top of him, cradling my body to his chest. I refrained from putting all my weight on him, still fearful of his weak state. We lay quietly for a few minutes…or maybe hours…my mind flying a thousand different directions. Was I right in what I did? Had I ruined Phil Crawley's life? Would he hate me forever? Would he even remember me, remember his human life in the way I could not? Jasper allowed me to think it out for a while, have my moment of endless unanswerable questioning before utter calm came to take its place via his gift.

"You did nothing wrong," he said into my ear, his breath tickling me. "You only aided along exactly what you saw would happen in the future. I'm sure if you took the time to try seeing it a different way Phil would be there too. It was his destiny – isn't that what you deal in, Alice? Destiny?"

"Destiny can be changed," I retorted. "I've seen it happen."

He shook his head underneath me. "No matter how I tried to change it, no matter what I did or did not do, you were always – always my destiny, Alice. There was never anyone else. There will never be anyone else. I'm sure you can see that, my beautiful little guilt-ridden fortune-teller."

I looked up to see him smiling slightly. His long fingers ran from my temple and down my face, moving to the corner of my lip as it pricked up into my own smile. I kissed his fingertips, closing my eyes as he ran them, feather-light, over my face and neck, skimming down my arms to feel every curve of my body.

"Are you still very weak?" I asked softly as he moved along my leg. Jasper laughed.

"Not that weak." His voice was husky, full of unspoken desire, a feeling I gladly reciprocated. I pressed my weight against him and tucked my head under his chin to breathe his scent in deeply. Hand began inching my skirt up my thigh, slowly rucking it around my waist and I responded by planting small kisses against his neck, moving downward as I unbuttoned his shirt. I paused in my movements when his fingers traced along the waistband of my underwear, slipping inside with one deft motion.

"Jazz," I gasped as a tremor of pleasure came through me.

"God, I missed you," Jasper whispered into my ear, his lips teasing my lobe. I rocked against his hand, his fingers feeling miles long, little moans erupting from my lips against his chest until he had pulled me right to my peak.

I felt him growing hard against my thigh as he worked, my own satisfaction turning him on. I moved out of the range of his hands, feeling empty as I slipped away, and swiftly unbuttoned his dirt-caked trousers. Clothes were quickly disposed of with a few random pieces staying in our haste; my skirt was still in place, and Jasper's shirt was on but unbuttoned, exposing his milky and scarred chest. I bent down, marking the now-familiar spots with my lips, and stopped when I reached one long, angry red stripe above his right shoulder. I gave him a quizzical stare.

"Roberta thought it would be funny to try and bite my arm off," he said quietly. I sighed and leaned down to press my forehead to his.

"I'm so sorry, my love," I whispered against his mouth. "There's nothing I can do to repair the pain I've caused you."

He tilted his face to kiss me passionately, his tongue tracing the contours of mine. I responded eagerly, but he broke away after a few moments.

"Any pain I felt in the past is only from being away from you," he murmured. "And you ease that pain just by being here with me. Just by…"

I felt him stopping just short of my entrance, teasing lightly and making me shiver. I laughed low in my throat and moved to straddle him, easing myself down onto his member, thrilling in the fact that I was the one making him groan like that. I was the one he was thrusting up to meet. I was the one who had her name called out in velvet-soft, honey-sweet tones.

Jasper reached his left hand up to cup my breast, rolling my nipple in his elegant fingers so that I arched my back and pressed further onto him, striking that perfect spot that made me quiver uncontrollably. His other hand was laced with my own, his fingers absent-mindedly tracing circles even as we were in the throes of our passion. I looked down into his beautiful eyes, topaz gaze meeting topaz gaze, locking and seeing every answer to any question there. There was no need for questions with Jasper, everything just was. It was only him and me, world without end.

I wrenched my eyes away from his, shutting them tight as I finished, still continuing my up-and-down movements until, gasping my name, he came. We rearranged our tangle of limbs on the newly-christened sofa until I was underneath his heavenly body. Inching his lips through the valley between my breasts, Jasper laid his head on my stomach, his breath cooling down my almost-heated body. I rested one hand on his cheek, threading the other through his silky hair.

It was bliss to lie with him like this again. It had been so long since we had made love that it had almost felt like the first time, and I was content to remain on this couch for the next three days just as we had stayed in bed after our arrival in Ten Sleep. Jasper looked up at me, making me melt into his beautiful gaze.

"What is it?" he asked with a soft smile.

"Your eyes," I murmured as my thumb traced around his left one, brushing across his lavender lid as he closed it.

"What about my eyes?" His lips skimmed my wrist as he spoke.

"They've turned," I said with a smile. He chuckled against my skin.

"So you're not going to miss my ruby eyes?" he asked.

I pursed my lips in thought. "Maybe a little, just because those were the eyes you had when I first met you…but these," I tapped my finger near his temple, "these show me what a wonderful man I have."

Jasper shook his head, stopping to kiss the soft skin of my stomach. "No, these show how much I want to be with you. How I'm willing to give up everything I've ever known just for you, my love. My angel. My Alice."

He moved his body upward to curl against my side, laying his head on my chest and looking up at me with those beautiful golden eyes.

"I love you," he whispered, lacing his hand in mine and bringing it up to his mouth to kiss each finger.

I smiled, entirely content.

"That might be enough."