Author's Note
Please forgive any spelling and/or grammar errors. I hope you enjoy it, please let me know what you think!
The final chapter is here! Took long enough, right?
Any dialogue you recognize is from Breaking Dawn. Most has changed at least a little, but there are a few bits from the book. PS I'm not Stephenie Meyer, so I don't own anything :(
Chapter 27 - Jasper
September 2016
Mae was bouncing, tiny clicks sounded each time the silver and white stiletto heels tapped the wood floor at the top of the stairs. Impatience filled the hallway where they waited. Exhilaration the only other feeling he detected. She couldn't wait to get started.
"You're sure mom's okay with this?" she asked for the eighth time, cheek's reddened and stretched from smiling so much already today.
"Why wouldn't she be?" Jasper asked, humoring her.
"I know how she feels about marriage, and people that marry young," Mae said, rolling her eyes and glancing out the window again. The twelfth time in less than a minute.
"You've been living with him for two years now. If you don't marry him soon, Edward will be the one you need to worry about," Jazz said dryly.
"Yeah, but I'm not even ten yet," Mae said, frowning at the oddness of the words. She'd already graduated college and started her career. And here she was on her wedding day - all before the age of ten.
Human years at least. Being a hybrid made her a little different. She'd stopped aging at age six, and currently looked about twenty-three.
"You will be in a week," Jasper reminded her. "And Bella couldn't possibly be any happier than you are - trust me, I know."
"You would," she agreed, delighted at the jest. "Do you think you and mom will ever get married?"
"Maybe, someday. We're in no rush," he said, the idea of proposing to Bella making his lips turn up of their own accord. He could picture it all - including how she would suspiciously ask, 'Why?' if he ever did.
"I think you should," Mae said, looking out the window again, "Hff," she grunted when the results were the same as the last fourteen times.
"I'll let you be the one to persuade her then," Jasper said easily. It didn't really matter to him one way or another, but he'd be willing to push the subject with Bella if it was that important to Mae.
"He's here!" she exclaimed, darting forward to race downstairs. Jasper caught her hand easily to stall her. "Fine! I'll wait like a good little girl," she sighed, but pressed her face to the window anyway, trying to at least catch a glimpse of him.
"Careful - Alice will kill you if you smudge your makeup," Jazz warned. His little girl looked radiant today. The beads on her dress catching the light, and glittering the way the rest of the family's skin did when touched by sunlight.
"Right. Don't want to face the pixie's wrath today," Mae agreed, still trying to look outside.
"Did you doubt that he'd show?" Jasper asked, amused as he watched her. Her love was so obvious he didn't need his gift to perceive it. Though if it wasn't as consuming and satisfying as he'd detected, he'd have tried talking her into waiting a little longer to get married. He didn't really want to hand his baby over today. But she was every bit as much in love as Jasper was with Bella.
"Never," she breathed. A hearty sigh sounded when she realized she'd not spot him through the window. It was facing the wrong direction.
"It'll take them a few minutes to get settled, poppet. There's still time for me to get Edward if you'd like him to walk you as well," Jasper offered. He'd been secretly thrilled when she'd asked him alone to walk her down the aisle and give her away, but he had to check. She was Edward's daughter too. They were equally her fathers, if in different ways.
"No, he's got the music. This should be for us. I'm so grateful you chose to be my dad. It feels right this way, and we have you to thank for today even happening," Mae said thickly, tearing up as she spoke. He went to her at once, cupping her cheeks and brushing away the tears. "Thank you, papa. For knowing what I needed before I knew myself," she said, hugging him tightly.
"I'm your father. It's my job," Jasper whispered, kissing her cheek.
Flashback
July 2014 - 2 years ago
Mae barrelled through the front door, slamming it shut and slumping against it, chewing on her thumbnail. Anxiety. Confusion. Disappointment.
The turbulent emotions, so out-of-character for his daughter to feel threw him. Jasper and Bella had been relaxing on the sofa, each reading a book when she came in. Bella's alarm amped up when Mae didn't even seem to notice them.
"Renesmee?" Bella called, willing her daughter to spill.
Caught. That was the only way to describe the way Mae's eyes rounded at the sight of her parents. Seconds passed, then she blurted, "I kissed Brady."
Seth's cousin, Brady was visiting their home in Laramie, Wyoming. Though technically, he was staying with Alice and Seth. The wolf just earned his undergraduate degree, and was moving to Chicago for law school. Since he was driving, he'd decided to spend a few weeks with them this summer. Mae had one more year herself at the University of Wyoming, since she'd looked at least eighteen even when she was actually only five, and she'd stopped aging only a year after that.
She was loving spending time with someone outside of the family that knew everything about her. All her secrets - and she knew his as well. They'd been nearly inseparable for days while her boyfriend was visiting his sister in Ohio.
"What about Nahuel?" Bella asked, blinking quickly. Her lips were still slightly parted at the stunning revelation. Mae and Nahuel had been dating for a year now. He'd even moved up to the states and enrolled at the same school to be closer to Mae.
For the first two years of college, Mae had dated. A lot. At times it seemed like every week there was a different guy she was mentioning. Bella had been flummoxed, repeating numerous times, 'I don't know where she gets this from - certainly not me!'.
Jasper just thought Mae seemed lost. Searching for something she'd never find until she remembered where she'd left it. Jazz was ready to help when she was ready to face the truth. Looked like the time had finally come.
Then the summer after her sophomore year, she'd asked to visit Nahuel again. He'd stayed in contact with her, and made his interest and intentions clear. Edward disapproved, but Jasper was content to let it play out. He already suspected how it would go. That summer, Mae finally gave him a shot, and he'd uprooted his life for her.
"Do I love him?" Mae asked, face scrunched as she directed the question to Jazz.
Jasper frowned, unable to conceal it. "If you have to ask, you already know the answer."
"And if you're kissing another," Bella added, shaking her head as if unable to believe Mae's confession.
"You did," Mae fired back. Seth, or someone else, must have told her about Bella's time with Jacob, because Jazz knew Bella never had.
"Because he wasn't the right one," Bella said, shocked by both the speed and accuracy of Mae's rebuttal. Not to mention the content. Adding, "Neither was or it wouldn't have happened."
Jasper kissed Bella's temple, slipping his arm around her to say he loved her too.
"Should we expect to see more of Brady?" Jasper asked, letting her know she'd have their support, no matter what she decided, but trying to convey with his tone that she should read more into what Bella had just said.
"No… he just reminded me… " she said quietly, trailing off and shrugging.
"Speaking of the past, have you thought about going to visit Jacob? The two of you have barely even spoken these last few years," Jasper suggested, ignoring Bella's shocked confusion. He'd explain his suspicions later.
Jacob and Mae hadn't seen each other since Quil's wedding two and a half years after he moved away from La Push. Things were strained at the wedding when Jake introduced his date, Natalie, to his 'friend' Mae. At approximately seventeen, and after some time apart, Mae had noticed Jacob was an attractive guy. But she'd sensed his discomfort at her attention. He was seriously considering building a life with the girl he'd brought. The strain had damaged their already tenuous relationship.
Practically breaking it.
Honestly, it had.
They'd already gone from talking every day to every couple months. After the wedding though, it was only on birthdays or the occasional Christmas or when Billy orchestrated a chance encounter. And then it was just awkward small talk. Forced and uncertain.
Eggshells. They walked on eggshells with one another.
Just the sound of Jacob's name had Mae's heart racing. Precisely the evidence he'd been looking for. Her crush had never really faded. It was the reason every guy she dated was ultimately found lacking. She didn't have to admit the truth aloud for it to be true.
"We've both been busy," Mae hedged, using the same excuse she always used when asked about Jake. Usually, it was Seth prodding her. He didn't like the ever deepening and widening canyon that had developed between his niece and his alpha.
Edward had even told Jasper that he'd seen in Seth's thoughts that Jacob had begun asking for updates about Mae for several months now.
"He and Natalie ended things a little while ago. He could probably use a friend right now too," Jasper informed her. Jake and Natalie had been together for four years. Everyone thought they were the perfect couple. But Jake couldn't commit to her. Something held him back.
Dawning comprehension flowed from beside him. Bella was finally on the same page. He stifled a chuckle.
But from Mae, all he felt was hope. Hope that the timing was finally right. Hope that Jake would see her for who she'd become, not the girl that needed his protection. Hope that he could finally love her back. It was an unrealized dream that suddenly had the potential to come true.
"You always feel better once you talk to him," Bella murmured encouragingly.
Mae nodded once, then turned and walked out of the house, not bothering to say goodbye or even pack a bag.
End Flashback
Mae had never returned from that trip. She'd spent the rest of the summer staying with him, then the two had moved and bought a place together.
Jasper had never asked for details, but a few weeks after she left, Jacob had called and asked Jasper, Bella, and Edward all to come visit. Mae had been radiant when they arrived. Utterly at peace with herself in a way she'd never been before. Her emotions in that moment alone told Jasper everything he'd ever need to know.
As her father, and in the unique position of being able to assess people more thoroughly than the average person, Jacob had always been the man he hoped Mae would choose as her life partner and eternal mate.
The private conversations he'd had with Jacob later only confirmed his knowing.
"It's time," Alice chimed, the words carrying to where they waited inside.
They were at the Cullen's house in Forks, where their journey started. The place Bella had met the Cullens in the first place. The place where Edward and Bella had married, hours before Mae was conceived. The place Bella officially joined the Cullens - first in marriage, then with venom. The place where Jake imprinted. The place where Bella and Jasper fell in love. The place where Mae spent her first year, or thirteen years, of life. The place where the packs originated. The place where it all began, and where they'd always eventually return to.
Edward began playing the piano, a complex and rich melody that he'd composed specifically for this moment. The moment his - their - daughter tied herself to another for eternity. To the man she loved above all others.
Jasper walked Mae down the aisle, her practically dragging him in her rush to get there, and handed her off to the only male outside of the Cullen family he'd ever trust to care for her. Jacob was the only one that would cherish and nurture her heart the way it was meant to be looked after. The wolf nodded, acknowledging the acceptance and faith Jasper offered, feeling the emotions involved in the traditional gesture.
Then Jake's eyes were only for Mae. The rest of those gathered ceased to exist, the same as it was for Mae.
The words of the ceremony barely registered. He was too busy gorging himself on the plethora of intoxicatingly sweet, positive emotions running rampant throughout the wedding. Jacob's joy was nearly incandescent, rivaled only by his daughter's. Though Jake was also a bit stupefied, as though it were some great mystery as to why Mae had chosen him from all the others. Jasper didn't blame him. He often felt the same with regards to Bella.
With only vampires, werewolves, and humans in the know in attendance, the backyard was quickly converted to a dance floor for the reception.
"Our baby is all grown up," Bella whispered, awed, as she leaned against him, the two of them watching Jake and Mae dance, each beaming widely.
"I remember when you were married in this very yard. Alice spent weeks, months really, planning. Every detail had to be perfect - and you couldn't care less. Not unlike how she's been ordering us all about to prepare this recently," Jasper said, knowing Alice was listening nearby.
"Hey! It was obviously worth it!"
"Did you ever imagine that your life would lead here when you moved from Arizona?" Jazz asked, ignoring his best friend.
"No. Not even after I met your family. I thought I knew exactly what I wanted. I thought I knew exactly how my life would be once I decided to be a Cullen. But I never knew to expect more, dream or hope for more. Because that's what it's been - this time with you. I could live for a hundred, hundred millenia, and never want for more so long as I have you by my side," Bella declared, laying her heart bare to him. He'd not expected the words when he made the comment, but they meant everything to him.
Bella showed him everyday that was how she felt. Her emotions never lied, always told him everything. But hearing her confirm those feelings now, when they'd just given their daughter into the care of another, soothed him in a way only Bella would ever recognize he'd needed.
"I hope you can feel that it's the same for me," he whispered thickly, not having the words to say himself.
"I can. I do everyday," she vowed, glowing with her happiness.
"Papa? Will you dance with me?" Mae interrupted. She'd been standing there for most of the words he and Bella had just exchanged, but it looked like her patience had reached its limit.
"It'd be my pleasure, poppet," he drawled, bowing over her hand before swinging her up into his arms, and making her giggle like a child once more.
"I hope I'm always as happy as you and mom," she said, the only comment she had for what she'd heard.
"I have a feeling you will be," he said, glancing to where Bella and Jake were now dancing, both laughing loudly as they did.
The song played without any more conversation, both content to share with their gifts. Mae showed him scenes from their life together, moments that were significant to her involving the two of them, or them and Bella. Throughout it all, he shared his pride, love, and hope with her.
"Can you take me to dad?" she requested when he started leading her back to Jake, where he was still laughing with Bella. Was that cake smeared on her face?
They passed Quil with his wife, Kyra, who was expecting her fourth child, on the way. Claire, their preferred babysitter, was helping wrangle the other three children, one of which was trying to pull on the tablecloth that the cake sat on.
"Jake said they're going to play another song for us to dance to in a second - something about returning a favor," Mae said to Edward when they reached him.
He smiled, bittersweetly, a touch of genuine humor, but his eyes went back to staring at Maggie with her perfectly curling red hair - not wild and orange like Victoria's, but deep and rich, like the heart of a ruby. Fascinated. Jasper recalled when Edward had looked at Bella that way. Edward nodded absently, agreeing that he was feeling much the same just then.
Edward, what is it? Jazz finally mentally asked his brother.
"Who is she?" Edward asked, nodding at the redhead. Maggie was beautiful. Probably Edward's age, maybe a little younger when she'd been turned.
"That's Maggie. She's part of the Irish coven. I met them a few years ago on the trip I took with grandpa Carlisle and grandma Esme," Mae said, eyes shining with delight at the prospect of her dad having a crush on someone new.
"Why? Do you want me to introduce you?" she asked impishly.
"She has the most sincere mind I've ever heard," Edward murmured, all but ignoring Jasper and his daughter.
"She's gifted. Anytime someone lies, she feels a flash of incredible pain," Mae explained.
Considering the way Edward used to bend the truth to suit his purpose, this should be interesting.
"She - where did you get this song?" Edward demanded, switching topics part way through as Rose began playing a lullaby on the piano.
"Auntie Leah gave it to Jake. He said you wrote it about me. I hope it's all right that I had Auntie Rose play it for us to dance to," Mae said, suddenly sounding uncertain. Edward's emotions showed devastating love.
"It's perfect, and so are you," Edward choked out, pulling Mae onto the dance floor and spinning her around. "I wrote it in Italy. Working on it whenever I missed you."
"I love you, dad," Mae said sincerely.
"You're my proof," Edward vowed.
"I'll remind you anytime you forget," Mae replied, speaking in a secret language only they could understand, much the same way she had with him. It warmed Jasper's heart to see them together.
Jasper looked around, taking in the rest of his family. Alice was on Seth's lap, nuzzling his nose. Sue and Charlie sat at their table, but they were purposely looking anywhere else. Leah was dancing with her new husband, her long, glossy hair flaring out whenever he spun her. Human suited her. Though judging by the tiny bulge in her dress, her glow might be due to her pregnancy.
Mae lead Edward over to Maggie when the song ended, and Jasper watched as Maggie ran him through his paces.
"So you were the one able to sleep with a human," Maggie asked, looking him up and down with interest.
"It was not without difficulty," Edward said, and Jasper felt his discomfort with the topic clear across the dance floor.
"No, I haven't," Edward said a second later to something he'd read in her mind.
"Yes," Edward huffed, exasperated.
Jacob bumped his shoulder, drawing his attention away from the train wreck unfolding before him.
Jasper glanced at Jake, and even though he'd been the one to come up and start the conversation, his attention was on Mae. Jazz followed his line of sight to see Mae hugging a crying Billy - the reason they'd almost been late today. Billy's white hair looked brittle and dry where it draped over Mae's arm.
Jasper could smell the cancer eating away at him even from this distance - all of the supernatural beings here could. Carlisle had already been treating him for months before this, but it didn't appear to be helping. Nothing could after a certain point. Sometimes life just ran its course.
"Now I know why I imprinted," Jacob proclaimed, drawing Jasper's attention away from his son-in-law's sick father. Son-in-law… wow. Never thought he'd think that phrase.
"This should be good," Jazz prodded.
"I'm the only one brave enough to handle you two as father-in-laws - a mind reader that knows every inappropriate thought I have, and an empath that can feel it. Talk about dangerous," Jake explained, mock shuttering. Though he did have a point.
"You've never been scared of either of us," Jasper pointed out.
"Because I also know you'll always be aware of exactly how much I love her," Jacob said confidently, attention returning to Mae where she was watching them together, smiling at what she'd heard.
"You better. You're my best guy, but she's my baby," Bella said, coming over to join them.
"Sure, sure, Bells," Jacob said, mouthing 'I love you' at Mae. She darted over as soon as he did, as if it was rehearsed.
"On that note, can I steal you for a minute?" Mae asked him pointedly. Jasper felt the shift in emotions from each of them, and deliberately tried to block it out.
"Wh - Oh! Yeah, see you guys," Jacob said, following after her like a mindless zombie.
"You know what that was about, right?"
"I'd rather not think about it," Bella said primly.
"We could always take a page out of their book," Jazz suggested.
"Later," Bella hissed, burying her face in his neck and kissing a scar, making him shiver in anticipation. "I think it's time we took that extended hunting trip you suggested last year," she whispered, kissing the mark more thoroughly, and making him moan, helpless to resist her.
"Let's slip away right after they leave for their honeymoon," Jasper pleaded, wanting alone time with his mate. The woman he would love for eternity.
"Anywhere. I'll go anywhere with you - forever," Bella vowed.
Because they did. Everything he thought he'd known after becoming a vampire had remade itself when he met Bella. Truly met her and got to know her. And now they had forever - together.
Thank you everyone that stuck around this whole time. I appreciate every person that reviewed and encouraged me to keep writing - it's the best motivation :). Please keep them coming so I can improve and use them as an excuse to write my stories instead of reading others.
I'm not working this weekend, so I might also be convinced to write a bonus chapter about when Seth imprints and what happens there. Let me know if you're interested in reading it.
I started writing Mae's story, so hopefully it'll be ready to start posting soon. It will alternate between Mae and Jake with each chapter being approximately a year in their life. The chapters are going to be pretty long though so no guarantees about quick updates.
I'm also working on the other Bella/Jasper story I have planned so look for those chapters as well.