Author's Note: Let me know if there are any glaring errors. Thank you for reading and reviewing. Shout outs at the end. Hope everyone is having a great weekend. I get to go to a wedding tomorrow I can't wait to dance. Now on to...
Thursday Afternoon
Carlisle
"Yes Desk Sergeant I'm trying to find records on a young woman who ran away from the State hospital about a year ago. The hospital said that her paperwork was most likely handed over to the police."
"Name."
"Mary Alice Brandon." I can sense him writing it down over the phone.
"You said a year ago?"
"Yes she said it's been just over a year."
"I'm afraid that Hurricane Deanna last August caused all kinds of flooding here. Many of our cold case files were damaged and not salvageable."
"Really?" I know they've had some disastrous weather in that area in the past years but I can't believe they lost important files.
"It's been a unmitigated mess. We're trying to reconstruct some of the files the best we can but if that one didn't survive I doubt we have anything on a runaway from the state hospital. I can't imagine too many people were looking for her."
I rub at my temple with my free hand. "Well please do check for me. I appreciate any help you can give me."
"I'll see what I can find Doctor."
I hang up the phone and then pick it back up to dial the other number the operator gave me today.
"Biloxi Home for Girls." A woman on the other end of the line picks up.
"Yes, my name is Carlisle Cullen. I'm a doctor and I'm trying to track down the legal papers for a young woman named Mary Alice Brandon?"
"Is she one of ours?" The woman sounds tired.
"She was one of the girls at your facility."
"Well if she's not currently then we've got nothing on her." I'm surprised to hear this and disappointed.
"Is there anyone who I could speak with who might remember her?" Alice seems to think that she was sent to the hospital because she was bad, I think there must have been another reason.
"How long ago was she here?"
"Three years ago."
"Doctor, we've had a big influx of children after the deadly tornados this past February everything has been turned upside down. I doubt anyone her will recall a girl from a year ago let alone three years ago."
"I'm really just trying to find her records so that she can attend school. Her birth certificate would really go a long way."
The woman sighs on the other end of the line. "Try the State Child Services Office maybe they have something."
Alice
When we get back from picking up the guys at Dr. Cullen's office Edward and Emmett head inside to find lunch. Jasper and I both move slower towards the house. The weather is nice out this afternoon. I think he's enjoying being outside, I know I am.
I walk down the sidewalk and run my hand along the bushes in the front of the house. Jasper follows me. He didn't say much on the car ride, really just hello and thanks for the ride. Edward was pretty quiet too and he kept looking at Jasper funny the whole ride home. I hope things went ok today. Jasper doesn't seem upset as I look back at him so things must have been at least half alright.
"Jasper look!" I point up to a tree branch where a little yellow bird with black wings has perched. He moves to stand next to me and follows my line of sight. "Isn't it so pretty?"
"It is." He agrees. We watch it for a second until it flies away. "What did you do this morning?" He asks me as I hop up the steps to look at the flowers in the pots Mrs. Cullen has put on the front steps.
He stays on the sidewalk. I watch as he leans all his weight on his crutch and his left leg and moves right leg a bit like he's stretching or maybe testing it. He doesn't look like he's hurting so I let him be. I do glace his direction discretely though the blue shirt he's wearing is a very handsome color on him.
"I helped Mrs. Cullen fold some laundry and she showed me her new design for a customer's kitchen. You should see it, if I ever get my own house I want a kitchen just like it. Big and bright with yellow tiles along the counter. It just looked like a really happy warm room."
He looks up at me on the steps and smiles. "Yellow is good."
"I thought you might like it, you've got yellow strips on your jacket." I point to the right arm where the patch is.
He grins and shakes his head like I've said something amusing. "Those are sergeant's strips. They let other soldier's know my rank. I didn't put them on because I like them but because it's army regulation. The army is mostly using these yellowish gold stripes now but they also have black and grey stripes that they use. Traditionally, yellow was the color of the cavalry." He explains.
"Cavalry?"
"The soldiers who rode horses." I stand at the top step and look out around the yard. I've never stayed in a place were there weren't neighbors right next door, it's almost kind of lonely.
"Have you ever ridden a horse before?" I ask.
"No, I never have." He leans against the railing for the front steps.
"Me either, I'm surprised you haven't I thought everyone in Texas rode horses." I tease. He lifts an eyebrow at me. "I bet it would be fun."
"I learned to ride a bike when I was a kid."
"Really, you'll have to teach me."
"It's been so long since I've done it myself I wouldn't know how to teach you, you could probably learn here if you wanted to... I sure one of the Cullen's could show you." He looks up at the big house in front of him.
"How did things go today."
"It was alright." I see him bite his lip and I'm not sure what that means.
"Do you like it still?"
"Yes." He answers readily so I don't think his feelings about the work have changed.
"Well, what are you working on?"
"I finished the notes for '49 and I'm working on '50 now. Apparently the spring of 1950 was a bad year for allergies. Everyone was coming in for sneezing and runny noses. The writer makes their Ms and Ns really similar in size but I think they add a little flourish to the Ns." He looks at me probably to make sure he's not boring me. I nod and try to show that I'm still listening. "Edward and I've kind of have a system working. He's going through the files and when there's short hand notes in the folders he slides it to me and I translate what I can and then he labels them."
He's so confidant as he talks passionately about what he's working on. His whole body language changes and he relaxes. I could listen happily all day as he talks.
"I've been wondering if Dr. Cullen would like these things typed. If I had access to a typewriter I could do it."
"You guys what lunch or what?" Emmett sticks his head out the front door. Jasper stands from his stop and I'm kinda sad that we were interrupted but it would probably be good to get lunch.
"Can we eat on the porch?" I ask, I'd really like to be outside.
"You can eat anywhere you want... like anywhere. I bet you could eat in the bathroom if you wanted. I've never tried that but I doubt Esme would be mad. But come on there's food!"
Carlisle
After I get home for the day I stand in the kitchen and tell Esme all about my frustrating afternoon calling all over Mississippi.
"Then Child Services said they didn't have anything, they said all her records and even guardianship would have been turned over to the Hospital who says they turned it all over to the police. The trail just circles back around and no one seems to have any clue. It's like no one cared about her." It was all making me mad.
"I'm sure they were doing the best they could under the circumstances." Esme is too kind. "Maybe you can talk with Alice and see if she can think of anyone else that might know where her things are."
"How much red tape do you think we'll have to cut through to get her into school and to get guardianship of her?" Why can't things just be simple?
"If no one has any record of her? I don't know."Esme looks just as at a loss as I feel.
"What about Jasper, have you mentioned the option of us becoming his legal guardians?"
"I mentioned going back to school to both of them, but I've not brought up guardianship." Esme and I have talked about the possibility but I haven't suggested it to either of them yet. It's not an easy conversation. "I think I've been avoiding talking about it because talking about guardians would likely bring up Jasper's guardian Maria and I haven't wanted to upset him."
"Oh my, I hadn't thought about that."
"Now that he's on the mend it might be time. Before that though let me talk with Alice. Maybe she can help broach the subject with Jasper. We should definitely make the offer to them together I think and we'll need to talk it over with our children."
"Absolutely."
"Though I think our children expect it's coming."
"Oh yes." She nods knowingly. "I think I'll make some tea would you like some?"
Esme
Carlisle asks Alice to join him in his study so he can ask her some questions. Jasper chooses to stay near the kitchen where he can see down the hall in their direction. Which leaves him and me. The other boys are upstairs I think and Rosalie is out.
The kettle starts to whistle as we both wait for Alice and Carlisle to get finished. Jasper looks back to the kitchen he seems curious about what I'm doing. "Would you like some tea Jasper?" I ask. He looks like he's unsure what he wants to answer as I set out cups for Carlisle and myself.
Carlisle and I have discussed the difficulty with decisions that Jasper seems to have. It's evident nearly every time we ask him something whether it's about food or clothes or if he wants to watch tv. We believe it comes from his rough (to put it mildly) upbringing. From what we've observed he seems to have anxiety about how we will react to the decisions he makes. Carlisle thinks it's important that he's given choices and shown that what he decides is ok with us (within reason of course.)
I try to make the decision, tea or no tea, easier. He seems to be thinking hard and looking nervously at me. Perhaps he's trying to determine how his having some or not will affect me. "There's plenty if you'd like some and if you don't I made some lemonade earlier, you're welcome to some of that. Of course if you don't want anything right now that's ok too, it's here whenever you'll like something." He steps closer to the kitchen counter, he doesn't sit and he keeps his crutch with him but he looks over to see what I'm doing. That's probably good.
I can see the wheels turning in his head, I know he's thinking, I wish I knew what he was thinking. He's hard to read and his serious expression isn't giving me any hints. "We've got some different tea bags." I pull a couple boxes out of the cupboard and put them on the island in front of him. He looks at them and looks at me.
I'm afraid I might just be making him uncomfortable. We've been in a tentative state of 'alright' since after his panic attack. I'm really trying to be easy with him and I know Rose asked him to try to relax around me. The apprehensive look on his face is starting to worry me.
"Are you... are you sick?" He suddenly asks. The question surprises me. I'm not sure where it's come from but he looks concerned.
"Why do you ask Dear?" I try to stay nonchalant and look through some of the tea bags. I pick one for myself and one for Carlisle.
"Tea's for when you're sick isn't it?" He asks again sincerely.
"Tea is good for when you don't feel well. But lots of people enjoy tea when they aren't sick." I explain. "Dr. Cullen and I have a cup often just because we like it."
"So you can just have it whenever?" He looks so young at the moment and sounds so uncertain. It makes me wonder how he survived in the army. How did no one realize he was a scared child?
"Yes there aren't any rules."
"There were..." His green eyes get dark and sad and I'll do anything to get him to comeback from where ever his thoughts have wondered.
"Well here you go we'll be rebels with our tea tonight." I grab him a cup and set it in front of him on the counter. "Here's the sugar, milk, honey," I pour some water in his cup. "The kids all like their's sweet. Here's an English Breakfast that's a good basic black tea to start with and now you can add what you like to it. If you like it, great and if you don't, it's no matter, you can try it a different way or a different tea bag. We've got lots of tea bags and lots of water." I ramble trying to get all my thoughts out, I don't know if they've made sense to him or not.
He nods and stands quietly while the tea steeps. He keeps looking in the direction of Carlisle office. I fix the other cups including one for Alice.
After a couple minutes I tell him to take his tea bag out and add what he'd like. He adds milk and then looks at the sugar bowl. He puts one spoonful in before hesitating and adding a second. I watch as he smells it curiously before sipping it carefully and setting the cup back down.
"What do you think?"
"I've never had it sweet like this, it's good. Much better than the coffee I drank in the army."
"Oh yeah? Did you drink a lot of coffee?" I seem to recall hearing somewhere that coffee was part of the rations the soldiers were given.
"Yes Ma'am, I never liked the taste of it. It was too strong and bitter." He scrunches up his nose and makes a disgusted face, it's just about the most expressive I've seen him and it makes me smile.
"You know what we need to go with our tea?"
"No." He holds the cup with both hands and takes another sip.
"Some cookies! I think there are some Nilla wafers around here somewhere."
Edward
I need to talk to Emmett and Rose. I've got to tell them about what happened at work this morning. When Rose finally gets in the door from her photo shoot location scouting trip with Mr. Tymon and his wife I urge her and Emmett up to my room to talk.
"What do you want Ed?" Rosalie eyes me but she's not going to get rid of me that easily.
"It's about Jasper." As soon as I say that her attitude changes they've been spending time together she's become really defensive about him.
She puts her hands on her hips "spill, you better not have upset him twerp." The threat of anguish is implied.
"He's fine, seriously." I hold my hands up in surrender. "I introduced him to Cindy today and I've got some information I thought you'd want to know."
That got their attention. I tell them about what happened.
"So she mistook him for our age, Rosalie didn't you say at one point you thought he was younger than a soldier should be... like your age, 17?" I ask and they both think about it.
Emmett theorizes "it's an easy mistake. Dude's got a baby face. He's not shaved once since he's gotten here I'm like 85% sure. He could probably pass for your age Edward. That's just the way it goes with some people."
"Yeah ok but..."
"I think there are some twenty year olds who could be mistaken high school aged." Rosalie tries to justify. She's thinking hard about it though, trying to piece what we know together.
"It just struck me kinda odd all around. He didn't correct her to tell her he was in the war. He wasn't sure how she would react."
Rosalie nods like she understood. "That's just self preservation. She was already all over him wasn't she."
"Can you image if Cindy had tried to hug him." Emmett chuckles.
"Goodness," Rose shakes her head "you're going to have to keep her away from him. If he was freaking out with her just touching his arm he might panic or something if she hugs him."
"Or punch her like you did." I remind her.
"Yeah well I told her I didn't want to be hugged." Ten year old Rosalie made sure you knew she didn't like something in unmistakable ways. If she didn't scream she's punch or bite.
"So he said he didn't lie so that means he lost a brother." Emmett thinks out loud.
"Could he have been talking about another soldier you know like a 'brother in arms?" I suggest.
Rose shrugs "maybe, or maybe he did have an older brother in the war, that is totally possible."
Suddenly there's a knock on the door. We all freeze afraid we've been caught, even though Jasper doesn't come up stairs, we hold our breath as the door opens. It's just Dad. "Your Mom says dinner will be ready in twenty mins and you should wash up and get ready to help set the table."
He must be wondering why the three of us are up here with serious looks on our faces. "Everything alright?"
"Fine." I answer for us. Emmett and Rosalie nod in agreement.
I think he thinks we're up here commiserating. "I know things have been different." He starts. "I want you all to know your mother and I have been really appreciative at how you've all been adjusting." He starts to close the door and go but before he can I have a question.
"Dad do you know if Jasper had a brother?" The question comes out of my mouth and Rose wacks me on the arm, she and Emmett both give me looks of disbelief. I figure if we don't want to ask Jasper maybe we can get something out of Dad.
His eyebrows furrow and he gets a concerned look in his face. "Why, did he say something?"
"No, not really it just came up in conversation with Cindy this morning and he said he lost his brother."
Dad is quiet for a moment then decides something. "Jasper did loose his family." He admits solemnly. We've all lost someone, so we can understand the feeling.
"Loose like they died or loose like he can't go back to them?" Emmett asks because in this house it could mean either.
Rosalie shifts uncomfortably she's told Emmett and I what she think Jasper's childhood might have been like. I'm sure she's imagining his family were the ones that abused him.
"It's not my story to tell..." Dad shakes his head, he's not going to give us anymore.
I roll my eyes and sigh. I get that we're being nosey but he is living here and we're working together. What's the point in keeping us in the dark?
"I know you all can be understanding and patient." He gives us a pointed look. "Please extent those courtesies to our guests as much as possible... now it's time to go help your mother with dinner. Let's go."
Tbc...
Author's note: More bonding on the way... Thank you for following this story I'm enjoying writing it and I'm glad people are enjoying reading it. If you're interested in theories, hints, and stuff check out the comments and shout outs! ~mj
Shout Outs!:
baby Cyclopes: More Edward and Jasper to come!
Jenandberrry: A bit of Alice in this story, I think there will be more in the next chapter. I think I've got everything plan through the end of this story and I've got some ideas for what happens after so yaya
Georgia Peaches: I think Edward is just observing and drawing a conclusion of him own. Could be both, there is possible hearing damage but it's not been explored, I could fit it in though. I went back and tried to find the other spots where Jasper doesn't hear things the first time in the story. It's usually when he's preoccupied or overwhelmed (like in Chapter 11 after the grocery shopping trip and all the bags come in, he doesn't hear Alice talking to him. He also doesn't hear the car pull up that Emmett does hear.) In my mind he's got some auditory processing issues but that's not been really specified. Great question Thank you.
IGP: They traded notes, I don't know that they've figured it out yet, those Rose did speculate that Jasper really had a brother.
Painedjasperluvr: Yes angst! I have more angsty painful plans, poor Jasper, stay tuned.
Brazos: He might except a hug if you ask him nicely you'd probably want to keep it short though.
Me: Eddy doesn't have a lot of tact maybe Jasper can teach him how to be more gentlemanly.
Welsh Angharad: Eddy isn't such a bad guy you're right he did try to help now we just need them to bond and be friends.
Jamaica: Yes not the first time and likely won't be the last. Thank you for your review.
Fourjays: Cindy is sweet and I bet she would be one of those fun babysitters who shows up with all kinds of games and coloring books. She is a toucher though and I can commiserate with Jasper, I don't like touchy people myself.
street scene: (your review come just as I about to post whew you made it) No Eddy wasn't a totally dick which is a surprise here's hoping he can keep being not a dick because I need him to cooperate for the next part of the story.
Thank you guys!
