Twilight character names belong to Stephenie Meyer. No copyright infringement is intended. Thanks as always go to my betas, U2Shay and Adt216, for their beta skills and to kejce for pre reading. U2Shay, thank you for talking me through all of the changes on this one.
Reassurance
"You're okay. You're okay," Jasper soothed, running his hand over Alice's hair as she sobbed. "I'm here, sweetheart. It wasn't a dream. I'm here."
Alice clung to Jasper with all her might, trying desperately to push down the haunting fear that last night had all been a cruel figment of her imagination. She drew in heavy breaths, allowing both Jasper's scent and the warmth of his embrace to calm her as he gently rocked her in his arms. Not since she had been a small child had she felt so safe and warm. That realization allowed the terror of moments earlier to slowly recede.
"You weren't here." She shuddered. "My ring was gone. I thought..."
"But I am here," he murmured then pressed his lips against her temple.
Jasper released Alice and pulled back the sheets. When he didn't immediately find what he was after, he lifted Alice's pillow and smiled in relief. Alice watched the amused smile spread across Jasper's face as he twirled her tiny ring on the tip of his middle finger.
"It's all here. It's real, Alice." He leaned forward and kissed her soundly as if to convince her of his sudden materialization in her bedroom.
Alice shuddered again. The chill running down her spine was not from the cold, but from the very warm feeling of Jasper's bare chest flush against hers.
"As much as I'd like our honeymoon to continue, we have guests downstairs."
Alice panicked, thinking her parents were pacing the living room.
"Edward and Bella are here," he clarified as he brushed the hair back from her face. "But it's probably best if we were both dressed before we head back downstairs."
Alice nodded and climbed out of bed to pick an outfit from what had remained unpacked. Jasper bent down to retrieve his shirt from the floor at the edge of the bed. The action caused his wedding band to flash against the light from the window. He sighed and turned to see Alice in her state of undress and forgot what he had intended to say.
"Have I told you how beautiful you are?" he asked.
"Yes." She smiled.
"Have I told you how lucky I am?"
Alice laughed this time. "Yes, more than once."
Jasper came up to her and turned her in his arms, running his hands over her shoulders.
"Good. I'll keep reminding you until your fears fade away."
Once more the eagerness of their kiss was broken by a reminder of the couple downstairs. This time it was a baby's cry that broke them of their reverie. The collapse of their bubble reminded Jasper of his earlier thought.
"We should probably take off our wedding rings," he said with a frown.
Alice laughed at the face he was making but was thrilled that he'd already grown attached to the symbol of their commitment. Jasper went to lift the ball and chain necklace from his neck when a stabbing pain in his arm halted the movement. He wasn't able to hide the grimace of pain that crossed his face.
Alice was instantly there to aid him. She lifted the necklace and pressed her lips to his scar.
"How are you feeling?"
"Sore," he admitted. "I took some of the meds they gave me in London. Alice," he said in all seriousness. "I have something to confess…I make terrible coffee. I'm not sure your percolator survived the morning."
Alice laughed again, but recognized Jasper's attempt to deflect the topic from his injury. She lifted her hand and rubbed soft circles into his injured muscle. It hurt at first, but after a few moments Jasper melted into her side.
"Thank you," he said with a breathy exhale.
"Anytime." Alice grinned.
She'd take any and every opportunity not only to comfort Jasper but to also have her hands on him. Jasper saw Alice's smile for what it was and kissed her softly just below the ear in return.
"I look forward to it, Mrs. Whitlock, but for now," he held up her left hand and kissed the gold band that hung loosely from her finger, "this needs to be tucked away. Unless you want to announce our marriage to anyone who walks through your door."
Alice shook her head no and gave Jasper the chain holding his dog tag. He tugged a bit until the band gave way and strung his wedding band on the chain. Alice found the second tag she'd worn for the last four months on the bedside table and followed suit.
"I guess if I can't wear it on my finger it will be good to have it close to my heart."
Jasper nodded, and after a few more minutes to freshen up, the pair walked hand in hand toward the stairs. As soon as the banister creaked, Bella was up off the couch and making her way as quickly as she could toward Alice. Bella was still more than a little unsteady on her feet, but it didn't stop her from throwing herself at Alice. Alice both laughed and cried feeling every bit of Bella's joy over her newfound happiness. She was wrapped so tightly in Bella's embrace that she could hardly breathe through her falling tears.
"I'm so happy for you." Bella sobbed.
For once Alice was able to hold her friend and share tears of joy and not sorrow over the man standing on the stairs behind them. After releasing Alice, a grinning Bella made her way to Jasper and lifted her hands to his face. Jasper smiled right back at her. Bella shook her head, allowing another sob to escape before reaching up to encircle him in her arms.
"I don't know how, I don't know why, but I thank God all the same," she cried.
"You're not the only one," Jasper teased.
He could feel Bella shake her head at his awful joke. Her arms tightened around his neck.
"I'm so happy for you…for her." Bella sobbed into his chest. "Jasper, please don't hurt her. I'd hate to have to kill you after everything it took to get you home."
"Bella, I would never—"
But Bella didn't allow him to finish his sentence. She released him and playfully tugged at the collar of his wrinkled uniform.
"Nice shirt, and shoes," she quietly teased while wiping away her tears.
Jasper got the message, Bella was teasing him, but she wanted to know his intentions toward Alice given his state of undress earlier.
"Bella, I know how it looks, but I swear I would never take advantage of her."
Bella nodded, a smirk was playing on her lips as more tears rolled down her cheeks. She pulled him into another fierce hug, too overwhelmed by his presence for words.
"Just make her happy," Bella sobbed after another long breath. "She deserves it. You both do."
"I swear, Bella, I'm going to make her smile every day of our life together."
Bella shook her head.
"I know your penchant for adventure, Mr. Whitlock. Just be sure it's a very long life together."
Jasper looked over Bella's shoulder and met Alice's eyes as he spoke.
"The only adventure I'm looking for is the one she and I make together."
At the bottom of the steps, Alice smiled brightly through her tears. She was clinging to Edward's side. She looked from Jasper to Edward and watched Edward's stunned face morph into joy.
"When? How?" Edward asked disbelievingly. His eyes never left his wife as she hugged Jasper.
"Just last night," Alice answered.
"I know I'm staring right at him," Edward said in awe, "but I can hardly believe it. It seems impossible." Edward slowly shook his head. "I'll take whatever miracle God worked to bring my friend, my brother home."
Alice smiled into Edward's chest as she felt him place a kiss on top of her head.
"Delivering that letter to his folks was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. Watching their pain and yours destroyed me, but now it feels as if an unbearable weight has been lifted from my chest."
Alice nodded. Her arms encircled his waist and she felt him exhale a full breath. She understood what he was feeling. It was as if her lungs had finally remembered how breathe the moment she fell into Jasper's embrace.
"With all due respect, quit hogging my wife," Jasper teased when he saw the emotions becoming too much for Edward. Bella finally released Jasper with a stunned look upon her face. Jasper just grinned at her. "I told you it wasn't how it appeared."
Alice rolled her eyes, but with her sniffle it had less of the effect she'd intended.
"So much for keeping it to ourselves."
Alice released Edward who flew up the stairs to Jasper. With a hearty embrace they acknowledged what simple words seemed incapable to express. Alice's eyes dripped with happiness as she watched the two men shed unabashed tears. She thought it fitting to see them embracing upon the staircase. Much like their own lives, both men had been caught between floors for far too long. Not exactly living, yet not on level footing either.
When Edward finally released his friend, his eyes were red and swollen. His voice cracked as he tried to hide his emotions behind a joke.
"Wait till the meanest SOB in ETOUSA finds out they sent you home."
Jasper's eyes widened, until he saw the mirth in Edward's expression. Little did either man know that was exactly what was about to occur.
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Cy's whistle was especially bright this morning. The cold November chill did little to dampen his spirits. In a few short hours his route would take him to the old Brandon house where he'd lay his eyes on the best sight he'd been able to consider in months, a very happy Miss Mary Alice Brandon. His pack seemed lighter and his step followed suit as he made his way from house to house. Not even the slippery steps coated by a fresh coat of winter could dampen his spirits. He was on his long trek up Presquile Road when a sharp, barking tone brought him out of his reverie. There, hunched over a whiskbroom, was Colonel Swan. In Cy's humble opinion, the man had returned from war with even more of a surly attitude than before he left. Cy would have thought him to be a bit happier.
We won after all.
Charlie Swan knew first hand what Cy did not. That victory had come at a very hefty price. The two men could not be less alike if they tried. The colonel was off putting and seemingly gruff while Cy was cheerful and nearly everyone's friend. Cy straightened his back and squared his shoulders as he finished the march up the drive whistling all the while. Not even the colonel's normally dour mood could bring Cy off his cloud today.
"What's got you extra chipper?" Charlie groused as he accepted his mail.
With one arm wrapped around his broom, he sifted through his letters. A rare glimpse of a smile crossed the old war bird's features. Charlie looked up from his letters half amused, half questioning why it was taking Cy so long to reply. Cy, for what it was worth, was trying to build anticipation.
"Oh, I'm just eager to get over to Miss Brandon's and drop off her mail," Cy began.
Charlie's smile fell, realizing it was Alice's last day in Easton. He had plans to go over after lunch to see his grandbabies and wish Alice well. He knew he'd see her often while she lived with Bella, but he also knew the deeper reason for her move and that knowledge left him lugging around a heavy load of remorse.
"You're eager to see her go?" Charlie questioned rather sharply.
He'd look after Alice like she was his own and didn't take kindly to anyone who'd think to hurt her.
"No, no," Cy backtracked.
He could tell the colonel was baited on the hook. He just needed to reel him in. Cy wasn't for town gossip but was busting at the seams to have others share in Alice's good news. He knew the colonel would be just as happy for Alice as he was. The colonel's daughter Bella had been practically raised by the Brandons after he left for the war.
"I'm happy her soldier friend came home last night," Cy began. He waited for the surly colonel to lift his eyes from his mail.
For a brief moment Charlie considered Edward, but Edward had been out of uniform for nearly a year. Confusion coated his expression until Cy got him out of the water and into the boat.
"Saw the boy at the bus depot last night myself. Handsome fella, that Whitlock. 'Bout time Miss—"
"Wait, did you say Whitlock? Are you goddamned sure, Cy?"
It was almost too much to hope for, but Cy's wide grin and slow nod made Charlie finally smile in return. Charlie ran up the steps without another word and began shoving papers around his desk in search of his car keys. Cy chuckled as he turned and made his way back down the drive. The last thing he heard was a frustrated bark from the colonel's mouth.
"Goddamnit. Whitlock, I'm going to ring your stinking neck."
Half lit by a fuse of happiness, half anxious to see the boy with his own two eyes, Charlie raced back down his front steps. His hat and coat were in one hand, car keys in the other. Before long, his sedan roared to life and began the three minute trek to 103 Little Park Road.
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Alice looked a bit dismayed at the brown sludge she found floating in her coffee pot.
"Exactly how much coffee did you put in here?"
Jasper shrugged. "Apparently a little too much."
He was sitting at Alice's kitchen table cradling his namesake against his chest. Bella sat beside him while Edward held a fidgety Serena on his lap. Serena squealed in laughter, pounding the bits of banana that remained uneaten with a flat palm.
"They're a bit more quiet at this size than that?" Jasper asked.
His innocent question made both Bella and Edward laugh.
"RJ's only quiet until he's ready to be changed or fed. Size has nothing to do with the volume of the cry, Uncle Jasper."
A loud knock on Alice's front door broke up the laughter surrounding the breakfast table. Alice's hands were full of suds, Edward was more than occupied with Serena and the look Edward passed to Bella more than indicated his request for her to stay put and rest. Taking his cue, Jasper gently passed a sleeping RJ to Bella and headed for the front door.
The other side of the swinging door revealed a formidable looking Colonel Swan.
"Colonel Swan?" Jasper croaked, not knowing how his former commander had suddenly found him. And in Alice's home of all places.
Jasper immediately straightened his posture. Even though Charlie was technically no longer his commander, two years of coming to attention before superiors was a hard habit for Jasper to break.
"Son of a bitch," the colonel breathed in disbelief. "Whitlock, where in the goddamned hell have you been?"
Jasper was searching for an answer when in a flash Alice had moved to her young husband's side with a wide eyed Serena on her hip.
"Charlie!" Alice reproached.
Charlie froze, his next sentence died in his mouth. Alice hefted Serena a little higher on her hip while glowering at Charlie. Serena cowered into Alice's shoulder. Charlie looked reproachful as he softened his expression. Alice couldn't hold back the smile appearing on her face, within Serena's tiny fist, the formidable colonel became as pliable as a dish of Jell-O.
"Papaw is sorry for scaring you," Charlie said softly. "I won't yell anymore."
Jasper was more stunned than anything when the colonel lifted his hands in request toward Jasper's godchild. With a little encouragement from Alice, Serena leaned over into her papaw's open arms. Jasper stood stock still, stunned not only by the connection between Serena and the colonel but also by the power one tiny woman and one little girl had over the meanest SOB in ETOUSA. With Serena securely tucked under the colonel's chin, he turned and glared at Jasper.
"You and I are going to talk...and soon."
"Yes, sir."
Colonel Swan chuckled. "At ease, Whitlock. You're not in the Army anymore."
He lowered his chin just a bit and gave Jasper a hard look. It wasn't hard for Jasper to interpret his meaning.
You may not be in the Army anymore, but as far as I'm concerned, rank always matters.
The colonel lifted his free hand to give Jasper's chest a hearty slap. "God, it's good to see you home, Whitlock."
Jasper about saw stars and struggled to remain standing. The colonel's playful slap over his healing shoulder about knocked him on his ass.
Alice wound her arm around Jasper's waist, hoping to take some of the burden off him as Charlie turned toward the kitchen. The worried look on her face was as apparent as her dark hair.
"I'm fine," Jasper choked. "He…he's Serena's grandfather?"
"Yes. Bella changed her name to Dwyer when she went off to war. Apparently, when Charlie found out she'd joined the war effort, he wanted to send her right back home. He finally let her stay after a lot of convincing and a promise to keep their family ties a secret." Alice looked over Jasper whose pallor had become rather gray in the last few moments. "Are you okay?" she asked again as she traced lightly over his forehead.
Jasper nodded, trying to convince himself and his wife that he'd be fine. "Just give me a minute."
Alice was about to help Jasper to the couch when Charlie called over his shoulder.
"You'd best call your relations, Alice, if you haven't already. Cy delivered my mail this morning and gave me the news. I don't think he could stop himself from telling your folks if he gets to them first."
Realizing Charlie was right, Alice helped Jasper to the couch and kissed him sweetly.
"You ready for this?" she quietly asked while trying to hide her nerves.
"So long as I don't receive another welcome like that, you bet."
The couple shared a private smile and a lingering kiss.
"I'm going to miss doing that with your relations around," Jasper breathed against her forehead.
Alice sighed. "Me too."
Moments later, Alice and Jasper sat side by side on her couch awaiting her parents' and sister's arrival. When Alice had called, Cindy's literal scream of excitement could be heard all the way across the room. She was expected to arrive with parents and husband in tow within minutes. Jasper and Alice held hands. Gentle strokes of fingertips were frequent during their wait. It would be hard for any observer to discern who was trying to comfort whom. The loud crack of high heels on the wood porch announced their arrival, but before Alice could even stand to get the door, Cindy barged in with hat flying and flew straight into a barely upright Alice.
"Oh my gracious, when did he get here? Did you know? Were you surprised? Did you faint? Did you kiss him? Oh my gosh," Cindy said, pulling back and looking at the flush of Alice's cheeks. "You did! It must have been amazing. Look how red you are!"
Jasper lifted his fist to his mouth and cleared his throat to announce his presence to his newly acquired sister-in-law. The boyish grin spreading from ear to ear was rather difficult to disguise. Cindy froze mid sentence and saw the dashing blond haired, blue eyed soldier standing just behind her sister. Her mouth fell wide open, and it nearly took everything Jasper had not to laugh. Bits of the letter he'd read last night came back to him.
You, my Jasper, are cockier than a strutting peacock. You'd do best to remember that my sister is very much taken already…Her wandering eyes hold appreciation over your photograph, but nothing more. Only one Brandon sister seeks your affections and that one is beginning to wonder if your over inflated ego would ever fit through her front door.
Jasper's teasing grin widened as he wondered if he'd have to help Alice find the lard after all.
Alice watched with arms crossed over her chest as Cindy drank in Jasper standing before her in all his soldiers' glory. His uniform spoke of respect and morality. But the curling hairs that fell forward against his forehead gave off the hint of a bad boy image that had unmistakably sent Cindy's toes curling. And that grin, my gosh that grin, was quite obviously making Cindy practically melt into the floor. Alice had to bite her cheek to keep from smiling. Though a part of her was jealous, a much more prominent part was gloating with pride.
"You can stop gawking, darling. You're wounding my ego," a voice called from behind Cindy. "I'm Collin McCabe, and the speechless woman before you is my wife, Cindy."
"Good to know you, Collin," Jasper replied, shaking Collin's hand with as much strength as he could muster with his bad arm. When he released Collin's hand, he grinned at Alice, holding her gaze out of the corner of his eye for a brief second before he stepped forward and lifted Cindy's gloved hand to his lips. "And your lovely wife as well."
Alice leaned against Jasper as he wrapped his good arm around her. Alice smiled demurely, lengthened her neck, and lifted up onto her tiptoes so that her lips practically grazed Jasper's ear.
"I see what you're doing and I'd protect that shoulder if I were you. I know where your pain points are, Mr. Whitlock."
Jasper tried hard to hide the smile on his face but utterly failed. Instead he pressed his lips to the soft spot beneath Alice's ear and whispered, "Duly noted, Mrs. Whitlock."
The reminder seemed to soften his new bride, but all ease vanished as Mr. and Mrs. Brandon stepped through Alice's front door. A cold chill ran down Jasper's spine that had nothing to do with the November wind floating through the front door. His back stiffened as the sight of a beautiful woman, looking much like an older version of Alice, appeared first. She wore a slanted, wide brimmed hat and a wool coat with a mink lapel. Her fingertips were clothed in leather gloves with fur trim to match her coat. Everything down to the color of her purse made Jasper's eyes grow wide, first with appreciation, then with fear. The formidable woman looked exactly as Alice had described in her letters. Amelia Brandon was not a woman to trifle with.
Alice, too, stood a little taller beside Jasper as her mother loosened one gloved finger at a time. She eyed Jasper first with a hint of caution and then her eyes rested on Alice. Alice saw the tension leave her mother's face as she stepped forward to bring her child into her arms. The smile on Alice's face had obviously been enough to relieve her mother's worries, at least for the moment.
Alice allowed a few tears to fall as her mother clutched her tightly. When she finally pulled back, Amelia lifted Alice's chin between her curled finger and her thumb.
"How I've missed this smile," she said, ducking her head to meet Alice's eyes.
Alice's growing smile allowed a few more tears to leak from the corner of her eyes. She lifted her hands to clasp her mother's arm.
"I don't think you have to worry about it going anywhere anytime soon. I'm pretty certain it's here to stay."
The double meaning in Alice's words was not lost on her mother. Amelia smiled knowingly at Alice before turning to the dashing but disheveled soldier standing beside her. Alice found it hard to not fidget or bite her lip as her mother appraised Jasper. After a moment, the whisper of a smile that spread across her mother's face allowed Alice to breathe an internal sigh of relief.
Jasper stepped forward and bowed his head slightly. He kept his eyes directly glued to his mother in law's, hoping she'd read the sincerity burning within them.
"Thank you for seeing Alice through while I was gone. She told me that it was the strength of her family and friends that made that possible. I owe you a debt of gratitude I can never repay."
Jasper rubbed his thumb over the back of Alice's knuckles. Alice's eyes softened at the gesture.
The boy in the photograph gracing Alice's desk was no more. That boy was now a man, and one whose gaze now settled on her with love and sincerity in his eyes. Alice loved him with her whole heart and prayed her family would see in Jasper's eyes what she saw, a devotion that words could never express.
Jasper's gaze returned to Amelia and in that moment he felt that they were silently thanking each other. Though he knew Amelia needed no thanks for the support and love she freely gave her child, Jasper was still grateful that she had been there to help Alice manage the dark moments of her life. He extended a grateful hand to his unknowing mother-in-law.
A single word was spoken from Amelia's lips as she took Jasper's offered hand.
"Likewise," she whispered with tears welling in her eyes. "I'm grateful to whatever strength lay deep within you to help you fight your way home. The light within Alice's eyes has never shown more brightly and I'm grateful to you for putting it there. You are obviously a very strong and brave soldier but I place more value on your strength as a gentle man standing there and looking adoringly at my child."
Alice's father was the last one through the door. He caught a hint of the conversation between his wife and his daughter's beau. Jasper swallowed audibly as he turned from the grateful eyes of Mrs. Brandon to the very suspicious ones of her spouse.
"I presume you are Private Jasper Whitlock," Mr. Brandon began formally.
"Yes, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you," Jasper replied with just the faintest hint of a quiver to his voice.
"Yes, yes, but I'm sure it's an even greater pleasure for you to meet my daughter."
"Most definitely, sir. Though I've only had a short while to see her lovely face in person, the beauty of her words and her honesty spoke to me a long time ago."
Jasper hoped his word volley pointed out that although this was his first opportunity to meet Alice in person, he had certainly known and loved her for much, much longer.
I'm not about to back down, Mr. Brandon, Jasper thought as he straightened his back. I love her and will make you believe it.
Though Jasper was standing tall, he felt like his throat was closing in on him. He was suddenly very grateful for Alice's wisdom in keeping their elopement quiet.
Mr. Brandon's eyes left Jasper's and he looked at the boxes around the room.
"So I assume the move…is off?"
"Yes," a voice answered quickly and confidently. Though it belonged to neither Alice nor Jasper.
Bella walked gingerly into the living room, cradling a satiated RJ in her arms.
"Alice's place is no longer in New Jersey with us, and I doubt it will be in Maryland either. Her place is where she's always wanted it to be…beside Jasper."
Alice both loved and hated her best friend in that moment. Not ten seconds after her father walks through the door, the fact that she was moving across country had been thrown in his face.
Might as well wave my wedding band along with Jasper's like a matador for my father to charge. I must remind myself to wring Bella's neck later tonight.
Bella took a seat on a side chair, trying her level best to disguise the satisfaction that flickered across her face. Edward stood beside her, looking resigned to Bella's approach to clearing the air.
"I'll make coffee," Alice announced, taking her mother's coat and handing it to Jasper. She motioned for him to take the remainder of their guests' coats while she pulled away the heavy dust cloth that covered her dining room table.
Alice mentally calculated the number of slices of pound cake she had left in her freezer and sent Collin down to the basement to retrieve her china and tea service. About ten minutes later, her table was covered with cups of weak coffee, since Jasper had wasted a lot of it earlier, and a dish of bite sized squares of pound cake. She didn't have enough full slices to feed nine adults but little could be done about that now. The introduction of her husband to her father was not about to be delayed for a trip down to the market.
Alice's father took his normal seat at the head of her table, while Alice offered Jasper its opposite. She took her place beside her bridegroom. While her left hand cradled her weak coffee, her right cradled Jasper's hand beneath the table linen.
"Blanchard and Davis really put it to Notre Dame last week, didn't they?" Collin began, in an obvious attempt to ease the tension in the room.
Colonel Swan let out an appreciative grunt, encouraging Collin to continue to deflect the topic of conversation a little while longer.
"Blanchard was unstoppable, I read the TIME article last week that described beef-trust legs that could dance on eggshells."
The look on Collin's face seemed to beg the other men at the table to join in. Edward was doing his best to keep his infant son quiet and didn't contribute much to the conversation. Charlie was a man of few words, as denoted by his grunt, and Jasper hadn't kept up with anything related to home since he'd left London five months ago. The ladies at the table weren't much help either, and the lull in the conversation unfortunately gave Mr. Brandon the opening he desired.
"So, Private Whitlock, Alice has told me you hail from west Texas," the senior Brandon began with a sip of his coffee. He couldn't help but wrinkle his nose at its tea like color and taste.
"Yes, sir," Jasper answered with more confidence than he thought he'd be able to muster.
"So let's get down to brass tax, shall we? What exactly are your intentions toward my daughter?"
"Frank!" Amelia scolded, but her husband shot her a quick look, asking both lovingly and authoritatively to butt out.
Charlie Swan, who sat on the other side of Amelia, was doing his level best to hold in his smirk. He was failing. Charlie lifted a single eyebrow to Edward in challenge then lifted his coffee cup to his mouth to hide his growing grin.
"To make her happy, sir," Jasper replied, oblivious to the silent exchange between Colonel Swan and his son-in-law.
"Happy today? Happy tomorrow?" Frank challenged. "Happy when you return to Texas?"
Jasper sat up a little straighter and stared into the eyes of the man at the far side of the table as he spoke.
"Happy for eternity, sir, or at least until the good Lord decides to separate us."
Seven pairs of eyes moved from Jasper back to Mr. Brandon, as if watching the volley of a tennis match.
"And exactly how do you intend to support her? Alice is well off. She has a home, a car; she has a means of supporting herself through her education."
Frank put down his cup and fingered his wedding ring. Jasper squirmed internally, knowing that his wife's finger was currently bare.
"I'm a rancher by trade, Mr. Brandon." Jasper's voice began shakily before he rallied. "My family raises cattle, and there's a tract of land I will take up from my father when I get home. Between that and the two years of service pay I have in my pocket, I can make a comfortable life for her."
"So, you expect me to allow you to take her away un-chaperoned from her family, h—"
"Respectfully, Father," Alice said through clearly gritted teeth. "Why are you talking about me as if I'm not here? I made my choice, long ago. I thought my chance was lost, and somehow God saw fit to grant me the gift of this man. I'm an adult, and as you so plainly put it, a self sufficient one capable of making her own choices." Alice lifted their joined hands from her lap and placed them on the table. "We are not asking for your permission, Father. We're asking for your blessing."
Frank visibly bristled a bit at Alice's sharp tone. Alice felt a pang of guilt. She'd never spoken to her father like that before. Out of the corner of her eye, Alice watched her mother grin into her coffee cup, she was obviously quite pleased with her daughter for standing up for herself. That small smile on her mother's lips gave Alice the confidence she needed to stand tall. She squared her shoulders toward her father; she would not retract her words.
"When it came time for Cindy to marry," Frank countered, "Collin asked me for her hand. I'd known him and his parents all his life, and even then it was still difficult to let her go. I do not know this boy, Alice, and you're asking me to let him take you across the country after knowing him one day. What kind of father allows that?" He turned from his daughter to Jasper. "It's obvious Mary Alice thinks the world of you Private Whitlock, but I make no apologies for protecting my daughter."
Jasper was just about to say something when he was cut off by someone he would never have expected to help him.
"I'll vouch for the boy," Charlie called out, making his presence at the table known. "He's a brave soldier and a good man," he added. "Jasper saved Bella's life and my own as well."
Frank Brandon pursed his lips. Alice could see that he was slowly accepting defeat, knowing that his opponent had bettered him. Alice turned and smiled at Jasper. The beauty of her glowing face eased the feeling of a lead brick lying in the pit of his stomach. Jasper watched his father in law's eyes leave the colonel's to meet his own. After a silent moment, he grimaced but nodded slightly into his coffee cup.
"When will you be leaving?" Amelia asked.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire, Jasper thought.
"I'd like to be on the road tomorrow," Jasper answered quietly.
"So soon?" Cindy asked with wide eyes. It was obvious that the idea of her sister being so far away was upsetting.
"Well as you can imagine, my folks are quite anxious to see me," Jasper answered honestly, hoping that Alice's mother and sister would understand.
"Of course," Amelia replied, looking abashed. "I can't imagine what your folks have been going through. We wouldn't expect to keep you from your mother's waiting arms."
"Thank you, ma'am," Jasper nodded appreciatively.
"They do have telephones in Texas. I'll be able to call you," Alice told her sister. "I'm not so sure about electricity…"
Jasper snorted and shook his head at his bride.
"Funny, Alice. If I recall, Ma's stove and Pa's upright work quite well with that newfangled 'lectricity,'" Jasper drawled.
Jasper's funny accent had everyone around the table laughing or at least smiling into their weak coffee. At the far side of the table, Amelia Brandon smiled knowingly as her eyes flashed between the young couple.
Don't worry mama, Alice thought as she held her mother's gaze. We're going to be just fine.
aj**AJAJ**aj
Hours after battling Alice's father for her hand, Jasper was battling to keep his eyes open. The lack of sleep on the boat, combined with the late night and early morning had his eyes glassing over as Alice's father extoled the importance of the beef trust cases to modern day antitrust law. Collin, in his attempt to deflect some of the discussion from Jasper, had again mentioned the article in TIME and their brilliant reference to Blanchard by comparing his thick and nimble limbs to a beef trust. That set Mr. Brandon on his current tangent.
Much of the early afternoon had been spent in Alice's dining room. There, eight adults and two small children listened to Jasper's description of the events he had encountered between July and November 1945. Jasper did his best to keep the tale appropriate for mixed company. The Brandons and the McCabes sat in stunned silence while Edward, Bella and Colonel Swan held more suspicious looks on their faces. They knew Jasper was offering a fraction of the entire story. When it came to explaining his wound and how he had obtained it, Mrs. Brandon was unable to hold back a gasp with her hand, while Alice's hand began to tremble within Jasper's. Though she knew Jasper was alive and safe, hearing the account of how close she came to losing him, made it all the more real. Jasper tightened his grasp on his wife and a nearly ashen Cindy buried her head in her husband's chest. Jasper watched them from an almost detached position.
Looking at Collin he seemed healthy enough to enlist or be drafted, yet here he sat, cradling his wife, his mind untouched by the horror of war. A burning sensation welled up in Jasper's chest. How had this man stayed in the comfort of his home, in the bosom of his loving wife, while so many others had been shipped off to war to die on foreign lands?
How was it fair? What had I or any other soldier done to deserve such a punishment?
Jasper tried to shake the thoughts from his mind, believing that it was Collin's job that had kept him stateside, but the burning continued to flare. It was only Alice's shuddering gasp for air that brought him back from those thoughts. Jasper again tightened his hold around her waist and pressed his lips to the soft waves on top of her head. He gently shushed her quiet cry, telling her he was okay now.
"You were always with me, Alice. That's how I made it home."
Though the words were intended to soothe her, she turned and held him tighter as her tears began to fall. She was so grateful he was alive, and he could feel every bit of anguish she'd gone through while she believed he was gone. The feel of Alice's heartache combined with her embrace brought a moment of clarity for Jasper. He didn't need to feel anything for Collin but companionship for having the love a good woman surrounding him. For if he had not gone to war, had not entered that hell of a mess, he wouldn't have met Edward, or Bella, or be holding the beautiful woman in his arms that he now called his wife. No the war wasn't his punishment; Alice was his reward.
When Jasper finished his tale, Cindy took Alice into the kitchen under the guise of helping her clear the dishes from their meal, but Jasper suspected it was to help her calm her nerves.
At the present moment, Mr. Brandon was explaining why the government had won the antitrust case but failed to order the dissolution, when the call of the soft couch cushions begged Jasper to close his eyes if only for a moment. Mrs. Brandon stood, bringing Jasper back to consciousness, and announced to the room that they were going home. It had been a very long, though happy day, but she'd felt she needed to rest after all of the excitement. Jasper suspected, Mrs. Brandon caught him dozing and was kind enough to make sure they quickly took their leave. Mr. Brandon, unfazed by his wife's declaration, finished his train of thought before promising Collin he'd finish the tale over Thanksgiving dinner. Jasper tried to disguise the smile that was threatening on his face when he caught Collin subtly rolling his eyes.
Mr. Brandon seemed to pause before his next statement and turned his stare to Jasper.
"Where are you staying tonight, Jasper?"
Jasper had been worrying Frank would make a comment about Alice missing a proper Thanksgiving dinner with her family, but he didn't. Instead, he asked Jasper's sleep deprived mind a question he wasn't prepared to answer.
In bed with my wife, of course, would have been his honest answer but it would earn him the certain shock and dislike of his in-laws and the expected cold shoulder from said new wife.
The question, though innocent, was one he stumbled over.
"Uh, Alice mentioned the Bartlett Pear."
It was an honest answer; she had mentioned it. Although it was last night when she'd mentioned it, just before their wedding.
"Nonsense, Amelia answered with her daughter's in tow behind her. "You'll stay with us. It will give us a chance to know you a little better before you leave for Texas."
Alice, who didn't like the idea of being separated from Jasper any more than Jasper liked the idea of being separated from Alice, offered an alternative.
"Bella and Edward will stay here in the spare room, like they've done for months. Jasper can have the couch."
Until you leave, she added silently.
Charlie cleared his throat.
"Jasper and Edward will stay with me. I have that big house with lots of space. Bella will stay with Alice and Edward can bring Jasper back in the morning," he said authoritatively but softened a bit when he looked at Alice's mother. "Amelia, I'm certain Jasper appreciates the offer of your hospitality, but I'd personally like the chance to talk with the boy. I knew a lot of men who lived and died over there. It would do me good to have a clearer picture of how our forces are holding onto the peace."
Alice watched as her mother mulled over Charlie's invitation. She wasn't sure what would be a worse predicament for Jasper, a night with his in-laws or a night with his former commander. In the end, Amelia nodded and Alice was left with the hope Edward's presence at Jasper's interrogation would be the lesser of two evils.
A half hour later, Edward had Jasper's duffel in the back of his car. The Brandons and McCabes had already left, followed shortly by Charlie. Edward kissed his children sweetly and after eliciting a promise to take care of herself, he gave his wife a long, lingering embrace. Bella made her way upstairs with the excuse of checking on her sleeping children while Edward said he'd wait for Jasper in the car.
As soon as they were alone, Jasper pulled Alice into his arms, pressing his lips frantically to hers. He'd missed her all day. Though at times they'd only been inches apart, it felt like miles. When they finally came up for air, Jasper trailed his hands down her neck lightly, tracing the slope of her skin until they dipped beneath her collar. For a moment Jasper lost himself in the sensation of her warmth. His fingers rolled along her collarbone until they reached the smooth ball chain that hung from her neck. He pulled it up until his dog tag and her wedding band lay exposed before them. Moments later Alice's ring was on her finger and its mate was on Jasper's. Jasper lifted Alice's left hand to his lips and kissed each knuckle before resting his lips on her gold band.
"I'll be back first thing in the morning," he promised.
Alice could only nod, but her anxiety over his departure was hiding there, just beneath the surface of her composure.
Jasper was very worried she'd have another nightmare like the one that shook her this morning. He took her soft face in his hands and stared into her eyes.
"Tell me you'll be all right, or I won't be able to let you go."
"I'll be all right," she answered weakly. "You'd better go. Besides I'll be better off here than you'll be if you keep Charlie waiting too long."
Alice laughed weakly at her own joke, but Jasper knew better than almost anyone that she was right. He kissed her hard then ran for the door.
"Remember, I love you, Alice Whitlock."
Those words were the ones Alice needed to hear. They would keep her bad dreams at bay. She smiled in the knowledge that Jasper loved her, and she was indeed Mrs. Alice Whitlock.
The drive to the colonel's was too short for Edward to say much more than "Thank God you're home, my friend." Nothing could be more true to the man who'd lost one brother and was praising God for returning a second.
No sooner than the men reached the top of the colonel's drive and wrestled their bags from Edward's trunk, when a loud banging startled them. Both men looked up to see every light downstairs beaming brightly into the night. Charlie stood on the porch, the door still reverberating from when it had been thrust back against the doorframe, with his arms folded menacingly across his chest. His lips twitched. Although the steam rising from his head was likely no more than his warm breaths against the cold night air, Jasper could have sworn he saw steam coming from the man's ears.
Charlie looked out across his yard and saw the two men before him. Without a moment's hesitation he barked out his order and turned to march inside.
"Get your asses in this house now. And I don't give a fucking rat's ass if you've been discharged or not, that's a goddamned order!"
A/N: I think Charlie steals the show in this chapter. So is he on the warpath ready to devour our boys or a big blowhard with a soft center?
Thanks for reading and let me know what you think,
-FirstBlush
The Long Way Home Historical Research and Reference Guide: Chapter 36 Reassurance
Story reference: Colin refers to Blanchard's beeftrust sized legs as a football player for Army.
Historical Significance: Meet packers Swift, Armour, and Morris merged into the National Packing Company, the action prompted a prompting a federal antitrust indictment later referred to as the beef trust cases.
Read more: .com/topic/beef-trust-cases#ixzz1XyWxUsvE
Source: http:/www(dot)answers(dot)com/topic/beef-trust-cases
Historical Significance: Army won the national championship for football in 1945. It was a dream season for the famed football team.
Source:
The Year America Stood Still: Army's Dream Season of 1945 http:/bleacherreport(dot)com/articles/73648-the-year-america-stood-still-armys-dream-season-of-1945
TIME Magazine: Army's Super Dupers: http:/www(dot)time(dot)com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,792534-6,00(dot)html