November, 1956

It was a cold autumn night. Jasper was lounging on the living room couch reading a book on early modern medievalism. I thought the book was rather dull, but it interested him so I was making some effort to let him enjoy it, even though there were so many other things I'd rather be doing. I leaned against the back of the couch resting my chin on my arms with my cheek grazing against his, reading along with him.

He was making slower progress than I, so when I got to the end of the page I flitted slightly forward to the future in my vision and read ahead of him. The minutes ticked by in silence.

When I was about fifteen pages ahead of Jasper, Edward came downstairs and went into the next room to play the piano. He was composing a piece for Carlisle and Esme, a gift for their upcoming anniversary, but was having some trouble with the bridge.

Do you want me to just tell you how it will turn out? I offered, shifting my vision to his immediate future to see his reaction. He frowned and shook his head; I guessed he wanted to go about it the hard way.

I sighed softly and went back to reading the boring book with Jasper. Time dragged on.

Carlisle and Esme were away on a hunting trip, which is why Edward was taking this opportunity to work out the kinks in their song. Emmett and Rose were off having some "alone time" five miles away in a house that Esme recently constructed for them. Their "alone time" would do significant damage to the structure. So far Esme had generously built or renovated fifteen houses for their own private enjoyment; and every one of them had been demolished by the sweethearts' violent lovemaking. Carlisle would soon put a stop to the endless cycle.

We'd moved up to Calgary, Alberta after only six years in Astoria. Carlisle said that since Jasper and I had lived so close during the year prior joining them, it would be better to leave that area a little sooner than usual to avoid risking local suspicion.

I was thrilled that we were living in Calgary, though. We were only two hundred and fifty miles southeast of Jasper National Park. Whenever we had the opportunity Jasper and I would run up to our waterfalls and hot springs together to re-live our honeymoon, over and over again. In fact, that sounded like a fabulous idea right now.

I sighed softly again and flipped further ahead to read the final page of the book. Jasper still had about a hundred pages to go.

I reached up and shyly twirled a lock of his wavy golden hair between my fingers. He stilled beneath my touch for an instant, and then continued reading. It seemed I could distract him from his book… easily. But Edward was in the other room playing the same segment of music over and over again in slightly different ways each time. Jasper would never consent to what I had in mind if our mind-reading brother was within a five-mile radius of us.

Maybe Edward could just decide to leave…? I hinted, watching Edward's immediate future in the next room to see his reaction.

He scowled and stubbornly continued working on his composition. I knew what he was trying to tell me. If we wanted privacy there was the whole world right outside the door and we were welcome to go avail ourselves of it whenever we chose.

I frowned. But then I grinned mischievously, rising to the challenge, and combed my fingers through Jaspers hair, caressing his scalp with my fingertips. He turned his head and looked at me curiously from the corner of his eye, smiling when he saw my smug grin. I could feel how easily I was distracting him. I leaned in to kiss his cheek softly, and then his lips. We didn't have to go out to the park. There were so many things we could do… right here. I let my mind wander over some of the more adventurous ideas I'd come up with recently, visualizing just enough detail to completely repulse the begrudging eavesdropper in the next room.

"Ugh! Okay! I'll go!" Edward hollered. He rose from the piano bench and stormed out into the night. I laughed, congratulating myself on my victory.

The moment he was out the door Jasper reached up and caught me around the waist, flipping me over the couch and into his lap.

"You are a wicked little thing, aren't you?" he murmured between kisses. He'd known all along what I was up to, of course.

"You're only now discovering that?" I asked, playfully.

He chuckled and rolled on top of me, sliding his hands under my blouse. I sighed as his capable fingers stroked my sensitive skin and his lips explored my throat.

I was about to stop him so I could suggest one of my adventurous ideas when suddenly…

Our family was assembled on the front lawn. The atmosphere was tense, every one of us positioned defensively, eyeing the woods surrounding the house as if waiting for an attack from some enemy.

And then they came. Eight graceful figures emerged from the trees, red-eyed and wild. They all looked to have been Hispanic in their human lives. I recognized the leader; I'd seen her in my visions of Jasper a long time ago. She was small, dark-haired and very youthful-looking. She looked at Jasper and a greedy, victorious smile spread across her face.

"Alice?" Jasper's worried voice sounded hollow and distant.

I blinked hard, snapping out of it. Edward was back, staring at me with a look of half-terrified confusion.

"What does it mean?" Edward asked. He must not have been out of range yet when the vision overtook me.

"What did you see?" Jasper demanded.

"She's coming here," I gasped.

"Who?" Jasper and Edward demanded, in unison.

"Maria," I breathed.

Jasper froze, his alabaster skin paling even further. Edward's eyes flashed to him, taking in the significance that name held for him. After a brief moment his eyes widened and his mouth fell open.

"She's coming here?" Jasper choked out.

"Yes."

"When? Why?"

"Three days. I… I'm not sure why." I shifted back into the vision, trying to hear any bits of conversation I might make out. "I think she wants you back."

"That's not going to happen," he growled.

"Who are the others?" Edward asked.

"Others?!" Jasper demanded.

"I don't know." I shook my head. "There are seven others coming with her," I explained to Jasper. Immediately his face transformed into a fierce, deadly expression. A growl rumbled in his chest.

"They all look to be near or over their year mark," Edward added, perhaps trying to calm Jasper.

"We need numbers," Jasper murmured, the deadly expression on his face hadn't faded one bit. "Perhaps we can contact Peter and Charlotte. If we act now we can choose our battleground, gain an advantage…"

"Wait… Jasper," Edward interrupted.

Jasper's eyes flashed between Edward and me, burning with intensity.

"I think we had better wait until Carlisle returns. These decisions are really his to make." His voice was gentle but firm.

The growl started rumbling in Jasper's chest again and he glared at Edward for a long moment.

"I understand that, Jasper. But there was no sign in the vision that they intended to start any violence. And we do have three days' warning. There is still time to discuss this together."

There was another long moment of silence while they gazed at one another. Jasper pulled me tighter into his side.

"Yes," Edward said, nodding. "If it comes to that then I suppose you will just have to do what you must."

The three of us waited, mostly in stressed silence, for the next several hours. I scanned the future, trying to figure out what Maria was up to. I hadn't been watching her at all since Jasper left that world behind, years ago. But it looked like she'd killed off her entire army and created a new one. The seven she had with her were all new faces. I concentrated on their immediate future. They were all speaking in Spanish. I didn't understand much Spanish at all. I knew how to say a few words, but that was about it.

"They're tracking his scent," Edward murmured.

Jasper and I looked up at him.

"You may not understand Spanish, Alice, but I do," He half smiled, but the expression didn't quite reach his eyes. "Keep watching and I'll let you know what's going on."

So I kept watching. Jasper wrapped his arm around me, rubbing my shoulder and gazing into my face. Now and then Edward asked me to go back or scan forward. I watched as Maria and her entourage moved from building to building, always at night, searching for traces of Jasper's scent. They were heading north into Canada and would soon find our trail.

The sound of Carlisle and Esme's approach finally distracted us. They entered the living room and were immediately alerted by the tense atmosphere.

"What is the matter?" Carlisle asked while Esme's eyes worriedly flashed to each of our faces.

Edward rushed through an explanation while Jasper and I remained silent.

Carlisle was quiet for a long moment after Edward finished. Then he nodded to himself.

"Esme, darling, please go bring Rosalie and Emmett. We will meet in the dining room and discuss this as a family."

Esme's eyes were still wide with worry. She nodded and touched Carlisle on the arm before rushing out to find the happy couple. The rest of us made our way into the dining room and sat around the large oval oak table.

Jasper held my hand, stroking his thumb along my knuckles soothingly. I kept scanning ahead, trying to see if I could learn anything that might be helpful.

We soon heard the approach of our last few family members. And then Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie entered the room and took their places at the table with us. Emmett and Rosalie looked more curious than worried, but I was sure Esme had filled them in on the way.

"Now that we're all here," Carlisle spoke, taking control. "Please, Alice, tell us all what you saw."

I took a deep breath. "The female, Maria, who created Jasper, is going to be paying us a visit in about three days. Accompanying her will be seven others, two females and four males. All of them look like they are near or past their first year. They will arrive here at night. It will be a cloudy night so I can't tell by the stars exactly what time they will arrive. But it will be very dark, not near morning or dusk. I'm finding it very difficult to tell what will happen when they get here. But the one thing that is certain is that she is coming for Jasper. She wants him to return with her to the south."

Carlisle waited for a moment, considering all the new little details I'd provided while allowing Emmett and Rose to absorb the information.

"Are they looking for a fight?" Emmett asked, grinning stupidly.

I shook my head in frustration, rubbing my temples with my fingertips. "It doesn't seem like that's what Maria wants. But I just can't be sure. It's like there's a decision that hasn't been made yet."

"Her entourage is probably just for her personal protection," Jasper offered. "Maria would never go anywhere alone. There are too many others seeking her life. But, still, they are dangerous. Their newborn strength is beginning to wane, and they are beginning to gain some self control, but for the most part they are still newborns." He'd wrapped his arm around me again, holding me tightly, protectively.

Emmet's grin widened. He was excited for a little action. Rosalie just looked up at him, worried and irritated with is nonchalance. Esme's eyes widened and she placed her hand over her throat. Edward's face was hard and grim. Carlisle just took in the information with calm acceptance.

"They will be experienced fighters," Jasper continued. "If it turns into a fight," his eyes flashed to me. "Then I'm afraid there may be a high cost. I recommend we call in assistance, whomever of our friends that we can contact and are able and willing to come."

Carlisle regarded Jasper for a long moment. Then he looked at me.

"Alice, are you able to see what will happen if we call our friends?"

I concentrated, filtering through the thousands of possibilities presenting themselves. With Carlisle open to the option of calling reinforcements I was able to see, but it didn't look promising.

"It looks more likely to turn into a fight if we do call for help. The young ones are nervous and short-tempered. If they sense that we're preparing to mount an attack they'll jump into the offensive."

Carlisle nodded, thoughtfully, and Jasper's eyes narrowed.

"I appreciate your advice and respect your opinion, Jasper," Carlisle said. "But in this instance I believe it is best to listen to your wife."

Jasper nodded, stiffly. "I wouldn't have it any other way," he said. But he was clearly unhappy with the outcome. We would be outnumbered.

"Can we run?" Esme asked breathlessly.

"We could try." He shrugged. "But I know Maria. Once she gets an idea in her head, it's near impossible to convince her otherwise. I'm sure she will keep coming for me for a very, very long time." He frowned and lowered his eyes, as if ashamed.

"Aside from calling our friends, what would you recommend we do, Jasper?" Carlisle asked.

"We should hunt, to be at the peak of our strength. And starting tomorrow we should all remain close to the house. Should they arrive earlier than expected we would not want to be caught separated."

Carlisle nodded.

"And when they do arrive, try not to make any moves that may be interpreted as aggressive. Don't do or say anything that might anger the young ones, either. Newborns have very short tempers. I don't know what Maria is thinking, so let me speak to her first, but after that I suppose we'll have to play it by ear."

Everyone thought that was a wise plan of action. But, really, who would have argued with Jasper's century of experience in that world?

The conference ended, but the atmosphere was still highly stressed. We all sat in the dining room in silence for a while. The only one who seemed to be at ease was Emmett. He was excited, hoping it would turn into a fight. I wanted to smack him upside the head.

One by one our family members left the room. When it was finally just the two of us, Jasper looked down at me with sad eyes and took my hand.

I saw what he was about to suggest, so I nodded and rose with him. We rushed out into the snowy night and sprinted northwest, heading toward our own private oasis of peace in the mountains.

It took a few hours to get there, though we ran swiftly. While we were running our future seemed to be shifting around, fuzzy and indistinct, the way it looked when Jasper was being indecisive about something. He was only ever this indecisive when he was trying to keep something a secret from me. I frowned.

We flew over the peak of the eastern mountain, raced down to the top of the waterfalls and stopped, looking down into the white boiling river.

We stood there in silence for several minutes. I wanted to ask him to tell me what he was thinking.

"Jasper…"

He turned to look at me and his eyes were burning with such intensity that the words caught in my throat. He closed the space between us and his mouth was on mine in an instant, urgent, needful. I groaned and reached up, twining my fingers in his hair, completely forgetting whatever it was I had been about to ask him.

Dawn was just breaking in the east. Jasper and I were entwined in an intimate embrace in the hot, steaming water of the smallest natural spring. Jasper gazed deeply into my eyes, stroking my cheek with his thumb. I was so relaxed and euphoric I was practically floating.

"Alice…" Jasper murmured.

"Yes?"

"I want you to stay here for the next few days… please."

Ire and indignation instantly exploded in my chest. Jasper's brow furrowed and he frowned in response.

"Please, Alice. I can't bear the thought of you there when she arrives. I can't bear to have you in danger."

My mood softened at his words. He was worried for me, my overprotective fool.

"I can take care of myself, Jazz. You know that."

"Yes, I now that, Alice. But I cannot allow you to be in danger. I just can't."

His expression was pained, desperate. I wrapped my arms around him, pressing the length of my body against his, listening to his breath moving in and out of his lungs.

"And do you think I can just stay here by myself and let you face her without me? Jasper, I love you far too much for that. No, I'm staying with you."

He tightened his arms around me; burying his face in my short, damp hair.

"Alice," he groaned. "I can't. I just can't bear to have her anywhere near you."

"Perhaps a compromise?" I offered, looking up into his honey-gold eyes.

He waited, listening.

"I'll be there, but waiting out of sight, perhaps in the house?"

"I don't like it."

"Of course not." I frowned. "But that's the best offer you're going to get. So take it or leave it."

His eyes narrowed and he clenched his teeth. "Very well, then."

I touched his face, running my index finger over his lips, which parted slightly.

"Please don't be angry with me. It's the only way. We have to be together, you must understand that."

"Of course I do, Alice. If you stayed here, it would feel like ripping myself in half to leave you. But it will feel worse, so much worse, if anything were to happen to you because of me."

"If I stayed behind and anything were to happen to you, I could never forgive myself," I told him.

He closed his eyes in acquiescence. It seemed we were at an impasse. So I just stretched up to kiss him softly, reassuringly.

"Together," I insisted, against his lips.

"Together," he agreed.

We stayed in our little paradise until sunset. When dusk fell we raced back to the house to rejoin the others. Jasper was still very worried, but he held my hand tightly the whole way.

Everyone was waiting for us in the living room, and breathed a sigh of relief when we finally arrived.

"Anything new?" Carlisle asked me as soon as we entered.

I focused hard on our future, closing my eyes and rubbing my temples. I still saw the family waiting out on the lawn at night, posed in varying defensive stances. The only difference was that I would be in the house when this happened. I frowned slightly at the vision. The eight southern vampires stalked toward us through the dense trees, Maria in a calm, self-assured gait; her seven escorts crouched low, eyes bright red, teeth bared.

"It's the same," I answered. "Unless something changes they'll be here in about two and a half days."

"Everyone, stay close to the house. Alice, please keep us informed, let us know if you see any change."

Everyone nodded. I closed my eyes again, rubbing my temples and concentrating, skimming back and forth and back again in time, watching Maria and her not-so-newborn entourage, hoping I could find something new or helpful. I felt Jasper take my arm and lead me somewhere. He gently lowered me onto the couch and sat next to me, wrapping his arm around me and rubbing my shoulder, sending a steady stream of calm throughout my body. I relaxed a bit, comforted by his touch and by his gift.

We stayed there, sitting on the couch for a very long time. I was almost completely unaware of my surroundings. Now and then I would catch the flash of a vision from my family; Emmett and Rosalie setting up a house of cards; Edward reorganizing his record collection, Carlisle coming into the living room to see if there was anything new and Jasper shaking his head in response. But my mind was almost entirely consumed by my visions. I watched as Maria and her groupies raced through the night, tracking the faint traces of Jasper's scent through Oregon and Washington. They crossed the border into Canada, but the sun was rising again and the southerners, especially the young ones, weren't comfortable with staying outside in daylight, even when it was overcast.

The day dragged on, painfully slow. The southerners hid in a dark cave until sunset, talking to one another in Spanish. It irritated me to no end that I couldn't understand what they were saying. Then the day darkened and they crept back outside, racing north once more. Jasper's scent was growing stronger the closer they came to Calgary. They were getting excited, running faster. Maria called out to the young ones and they fell back, following behind her like a pack of wolves.

I could tell the time was coming closer. My visions were getting clearer and clearer as they approached. They would be here in mere minutes; I could see the vision with crystal clarity now.

"They're coming," I whispered, eyes still unfocused, watching their approach.

Instantly the entire family rushed into the living room, I heard them assemble around me expectantly.

"They'll be here in two minutes. Go quickly!" I breathed.

There was a moment of hesitation.

"She's staying inside," Edward murmured to the others. "Let's go."

There was another slight moment of hesitation, and then they all left, assembling on the lawn, just as I had seen in my vision, leaving me alone in the living room.

With my eyes closed, sitting on the couch, I could see my family perfectly. Jasper was taking the point, with Emmett slightly behind him and to his right, Edward to his left. Carlisle was next to Edward, and Rosalie and Esme were in the protected pocket of space behind them all.

They watched the trees, shifting slightly back and forth, not sure where they would be coming from. I skipped ahead to see, they would arrive from the east, following Jasper's most recent trail in.

"From the east," Edward spoke. Of course he would be watching my visions with me. Everyone turned to face the proper direction.

I felt like I would explode with frustration and fear. It felt so wrong having Jasper out there on the front lines while I was hiding inside. But this was our compromise, and I did understand his point of view. If it were up to me I would have locked him away in our mountain retreat and faced Maria and her young vampires all on my own, even if it meant that I would have to fight them off by myself, even if I had to rip them all to pieces and burn them to ashes to protect him.

Another thought suddenly dawned on me. Could I fight them off?

In my sparring matches with Jasper he'd never been able to touch me. And every time he let me attack him it took nearly no time at all for me to win. Jasper was one of the most skilled warriors in the vampire world. If I could beat him, surely I could win against young and relatively unskilled fighters.

But in all of our sparring matches, it had always been only for fun. I had never tried to kill one of my own kind before, ever. It was one thing to tackle Jasper, planting a victorious kiss on his scarred throat, and tumbling into a glorious romantic embrace. It was another thing entirely to sink my diamond-hard and razor-sharp teeth into an enemy, rending his head from his shoulders and ripping his body into shreds with my bare hands.

I shuddered slightly at the thought.

And then they came. From the thick trees eight deadly, graceful figures appeared. Maria was out front; her slight, youthful form was in contrast to the large, well-muscled forms of her escorts. She saw jasper and a greedy, victorious smile lit up her face. Her companions were spaced evenly, flanking her in a military-style formation.

Maria's eyes were wary, she eyed the group surrounding Jasper speculatively. I suspected that everyone's golden eyes confused her. She couldn't be surprised by our numbers, though; she had to have noticed the seven distinct vampire scents while they were tracking us here.

Maria and her followers stopped when they entered the lawn. There was a moment of silence as the two groups sized each other up. I felt a wave of calm wash over me and I knew that Jasper was using his gift to help defuse the situation.

"Maria," he murmured, bowing slightly in formality. "Why have you come here?"

"Jasper." She cocked her head coyly. "You abandoned us so suddenly. I believe you are the one who must explain yourself."

"I left you because you were planning to turn on me. And I would rather be on my own than be forced to kill you."

Behind her the young ones hissed angrily. They didn't like what Jasper was implying, that he could unquestionably and easily kill their leader.

"You're right, Jasper. Of course, you are usually right about things of that nature aren't you?"

"After I saved you from Nettie and Lucy, after I helped you to destroy them, how could you choose to turn on me?" His voice was slightly pained.

"I was jealous, Jasper. You knew that. I believed that it was my own greatness delivering so many victories to our cause. Yes, I wanted to kill you. But I was wrong, Jasper! I see that now. Without you, we have nothing. We need you, Jasper."

"I don't want to go back with you, Maria. I was never more than a tool for you to use. Here I have a family that cares for me, and I for them. There is no war up here in the north, Maria. No one builds armies or launches attack to gain territory. You can leave that world of greed and vendetta behind, if you chose to."

Her eyes went as hard as flint. "Andrés took Monterrey, Jasper. Don't you remember how hard we fought to gain that territory? Don't you remember how glorious it felt when we were victorious? We were the most powerful vampires on this side of the world, feeding five times a day, ten times a day if we wished. No one could touch us! You want to leave all that behind? Impossible! Come with me, my old friend. Come and we will reclaim what is rightfully ours."

There was a long silence. The male that was standing behind and to the right of Maria glanced at one of his companions. They exchanged a meaningful look and suddenly the future shifted. I saw with perfect clarity what would happen next.

Jasper would refuse to go with her. And Maria's bodyguards would turn on her. She'd promised them a great General, a leader who would bring them into decadent prosperity. But she was not delivering on her promise, so they would take her down.

Even though Jasper felt no particular affection for Maria, he wouldn't stand by and let her be assassinated. He would jump into the fight, trying to protect her. And then the young ones would attack him, also.

This vision took less than a second for me to process. I felt a surge of some mysterious energy swell in my chest. My arms and legs tingled as though charged with electricity. I clenched my fists at my side, my eyes popped wide, but I was not seeing the room around me in the present. Instinctively I was watching the window of time from a thousandth of a second to five seconds in the future.

Jasper opened his mouth to answer her.

"No," he said, gently and calmly, but with finality.

NO! I screamed in my head.

Edward was turning towards the house. I wasn't sure if he was going to try to stop me or help me, because he wouldn't get the chance to do either.

I launched myself through the wall, like a wrecking ball, and streaked toward my first target. He'd turned on Maria, all right. But he barely had a chance to even move in her direction. I caught him around the head and savagely ripped it off tossing it into the trees.

The others were so shocked that they didn't act right away. That gave me time to break the now-headless body in half before launching at my next target.

Jasper saw what was happening. He was moving toward the fight, furious and terrified at the same time. But I was focused on the task at hand.

I dispatched my next enemy with ease, her wrecked body went sailing through the air and, unfortunately, collided with the house, tearing through four walls as if they were made of paper and landing on the far side. One of the males chased after the body I'd just tossed. I launched at him and we collided in the house with a thunderous boom. I ripped him limb from limb. When I was certain that he was sufficiently dismantled I hurled myself out of the house, if it even could be called a house anymore. There was only one enemy left.

"Stop, Alice!"

It was the only voice that could reach me in the wild state I was in. I froze and Jasper approached me slowly, putting his hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes.

"Come back to me, Alice," he pled, shaking me slightly.

I blinked and refocused, coming back to the present. I realized that I was glaring balefully, teeth bared at a terrified Maria. The other four young ones were already taken care of, obviously by Emmett and Jasper.

For an instant I panicked. Had they hurt him? I quickly looked over Jasper's form, and relaxed when I saw that he was undamaged.

Now that I was back in the present I noticed that everyone was staring, wide-eyed and open-mouthed at me. I looked at them all in turn; feeling a little surprised at myself as a matter of fact, and said the only thing that really seemed appropriate at the time.

"I'm really sorry about the house, Esme." I smiled apologetically.

Just then there was a loud crackling groaning of heavy wood under too much stress; a few large pops and snaps; and then our house came crashing down in a giant cloud of dust behind us.