Author's Note: Happy New Year everyone! Long time no see! I apologize for the delay but I have started a new job, began the process of buying a house, and life has a way of taking up time! Have no fear though, I am throwing myself back into writing as we speak (or you read?). I am excited to see what the future has in store for this fic as we have some new information to work with. For those of you who have read Midnight Sun, we now know that our dear Jasper is a great deal stronger than described in the original Twilight books! I am trying to work out how to have fun with that and stay more true to his character leading forward. Please let me know if you have suggestions :)

After a quick hunt, Jasper had changed into the spare clothes he now kept in his bag, tucking the ones with Bella's scent into an airtight bag until he could launder them. As long as they stayed outside, it was easy to get rid of her scent and keep the secret. Jasper was hoping she'd be willing to meet with his family before the weather got too cold out. His scent masking techniques would have to get much more creative if he was in close quarters with her for too long.

Jasper slowed his motorcycle and peered through his dark helmet as he neared the old colonial style house. It stood out amongst its neighbors due to its size and wear. Esme was determined to return it to its former glory and he was sure it would be stunning when she finished.

Pulling around back of the house, Jasper listened for Esme inside. From the sounds of the drill and the dusty smell, he ascertained that she was working on replacing the ceiling in the dining room. Pipes had leaked from an upstairs bathroom and caused severe warping in the ceiling along with some wood rot on several structural beams. He and Carlisle had helped support the room while the beams were replaced and reinforced over the weekend.

With more enthusiasm than usual, Jasper checked his surroundings for onlookers before grabbing several sheets of drywall and making his way into the old home through the back door. What greeted him was a battlefield of ripped out moldings, spackle, and clear plastic sheets hanging in every archway. When he brushed through the one on the right, leading to the dining room, Esme paused what she was doing to give him a smile.

"It's about time you showed up," she chided him jokingly.

He grinned back at her. "M'apologies, Esme. I had a prior obligation I needed to attend to." He set the new stack of drywall at her feet with a large thump. "I did tell you I would be late today."

"Well now that you're here, we can get started on the fun stuff." She pat his shoulder in passing, exuding nothing but love and joviality. Her love for her family could never be questioned. When he and Alice first joined the coven, Esme had gone out of her way to make them both feel comfortable, which meant a lot to Jasper as he could feel how uneasy the scars he bore made the others.

Esme motioned for him to hold a piece of drywall while she secured it, not giving up on her task of restoration for long. The task would be simple enough for her to do on her own. They had found, however, that tag-teaming projects involving large materials lead to less destruction of said materials and less waste. At least, that was the case as long as only one of Esme's sons was helping. Several early projects had quickly racked up twice the budget allotted due to fighting amongst the materials. Esme had since learned her lesson and now only asks for one child's help at a time.

They quickly settled into an easy rhythm and spent their time working quietly. First, installing the drywall. Then, spackling the holes caused by screws and filling in the gaps between sheets. The air radiated contentedness as both of them worked at a slow pace, for vampires.

Jasper found himself thinking about Isabella while he worked. It had been quite a pleasant experience to sit with her on the slope, more so than he would have ever imagined. She had so forthright accepted him and his journey. The mere fact that she'd never blamed him for what happened on her birthday stunned him. While he knew he'd been the catalyst, or at least the excuse for the family leaving, he also felt great relief when she had acquitted him. Isabella had even expressed respect at the way he'd chosen to atone.

She really was a remarkable young lady. If one looked past her draw to danger and supernatural entities, then she could be viewed as very intelligent and wise for her age.

Jasper nearly chuckled, thinking about her own comment, and found himself longing for their next meeting. Before he left to help Esme, just as the sun was about to peek out from behind the clouds, Isabella had agreed to meet him after their classes on Monday. The forecast was expected to be chilly and overcast. He worried briefly about Isabella's ability to stay warm when outside for such an extended period of time and settled on bringing an extra thick jacket in case the one she wore was insufficient.

He imagined that she would initially refuse any offer of aid. She seemed very proud and from what Jasper had experienced from her days with Edward, she was fairly insecure about her humanity and the weaknesses that accompanied it. Jasper wondered how long she would hold out before accepting the offer of the jacket. Not only was she stubborn but she was a woman of modern times. He doubted she would courteously take it. He held back a laugh, thinking of the argument he'd surely have to put up just to get her to consider accepting the jacket.

Esme stopped spackling to laugh. Jasper paused his own project to take stock. He hadn't been aware of just how potent the emotions he'd been emitting were. Happiness and amusement hung heavy in the air around them. He was used to keeping a tight grip on his powers, one wrong move and he could knock his family on their ass. Now, however, he felt full in a way that was hard to suppress.

Esme moved closer and wrapped an arm around him, lovingly giving Jasper a side hug. Leaning her cheek against his shoulder she inquired, "You've been quite chipper lately, Jasper." He practically heard the question she left unasked, what's changed? Esme had never been one to pry but even now her emotions rang with curiosity and love. Esme took her role as mother very seriously and Jasper usually went out of his way to make sure she knew just how much each of her children appreciated it.

He pondered telling her the truth about his interactions with the Swan girl. They'd agreed to let Isabella live her own life. However, he was also aware of how much the girl meant to his family, Esme in particular. Esme still viewed her as one of her children and all she wanted was for her children to be happy. He knew as soon as Esme was aware of his interactions with Isabella, she would ask to see her. He did not think Isabella would be ready for that. Between her readiness and his promise to her to keep this between them, letting Esme in on the secret had the potential to ruin his plan of reuniting her with the family.

He could not be too quick to act, he determined, he would not tell Esme, not until he was positive that Isabella would be open to seeing the family again. Beyond this, he could not let Esme get her hopes up only to be let down if Jasper failed. Instead, he smiled making sure to include a pulse of certainty in his emotions and said, "I am starting to see the benefit in attending the university this year. Carlisle was right, it has been good for me."

As predicted, Esme's heart swelled at that statement and she held him tighter against her side. "Oh Jasper, I am so happy for you. You have the strength to overcome anything. I know you do." She looked at him with such motherly love he almost felt guilty for smudging the truth. "You deserve so much happiness and I know that this journey will help lead you to it." With a peck on the cheek, she left him once again to his own project.

Smiling, Jasper returned to his work spackling the final seam. His stand-in mother may have well been his real one. She felt so genuinely and truly believed he could overcome anything. She believed he would find happiness.

The longer Jasper thought it the more it made sense. He could overcome his bloodlust, of this he was positive. However, that could not be his purpose forever. Eventually, if things went right, it would become second hand and he would need a new purpose. He estimated at maximum it might take him 12 more years to master his thirst the way Emmett had. Not perfect but not uncomfortable and able to fully function when immersed in human situations. He needed something that would outlast his adjustment. What would make him happy?

Dodging any thoughts of Alice, though a part of his brain had already begun to analyze the probability of her return or the chance of finding a mate, he pondered this. In his vampiric existence, he had lived goal by goal. Survive. Win . Escape. Survive. Make potential mate happy by learning to feed on animals. Keep the family safe. How much of that had been for his own happiness?

He thought of what made his family happy. With Rosalie and Emmett, it was each other. With Carlisle and Esme, it was still each other. He'd always thought he made Alice happy. With Edward, it was hard to pick out what specifically made him happy. If he ruled out mating, as that often occurred by chance, he was left with one common source of happiness. Family and connection. There was one person his family was all connected to. Someone, no matter how much some of them would try to deny it, they all cared about.

Bella.

Jasper was the only one who had maintained a distance. Rosalie had been cold but that had been to deflect Bella's curiosity to their lifestyle and prevent her from making a choice Rosalie would not have made for herself. Emmett had adored his little sister. Carlisle and Esme had felt as though they'd gained a daughter. Alice had practically smothered her new best friend in affection.

Was there a way, possibly, that Isabella Swan could lead to his own happiness? Even if only inadvertently? Her happiness was contagious. He'd felt it's effects long after he'd left her on the slope.

Perhaps that was what he could focus on. If he made his purpose making sure Isabella was happy, wouldn't his life also be the better for it? When Isabella felt content, she radiated with it. He could only imagine what true happiness would feel like coming from her. He longed for a taste of the emotion. His brain began cataloging every reaction she's had over the years, trying to pinpoint anything in particular that had made her happy. Besides what she had told him about her family and about her friends back in La Push, Jasper could not recall a time he had felt her filled with joy or even pure satisfaction. Every positive emotion he had felt from her, prior to Cornell, had been clouded by one emotion or another. Most often, insecurity.

Jasper had barely seen a glimpse of that insecurity since she had corralled him in the study room. He drew only one conclusion. Edward had to be the determining factor.

This new knowledge sipped away at his prior jovial mood. What had that son-of-a-bitch done prior to leaving her in the woods? He thought back to every interaction, every conversation he'd heard from across the house. Edward had played on her insecurities, reinforced her beliefs that as a human she was somehow inferior. All while convincing her that it was for her own good. He'd played her, just like he'd played the rest of them.

Jasper was surprised Isabella had chosen to speak to him. She could not have drawn the same conclusions. If she had, he wouldn't blame her for distrusting vampires as a whole.

Jasper seethed silently, sure to keep a rein on his emotions this time. After a few moments, he was able to backtrack to his primary train of thought.

He could help Isabella in more ways than one. She had already proved that she was still in danger without them. They had already had too much influence on her life to take any of it back, he feared she would attract his kind for the rest of her life. Staying connected to the family could provide her with safety that she would not have otherwise. The family was well connected and more than comfortable. They could provide her with opportunities she would not have otherwise.

As altruistic as he wished he was, he knew it was a selfish decision. In choosing this, he would improve his family's happiness by providing them with a connection to their favorite human. There was also the possibility that he could make up for the prior havoc he wreaked on Isabella Swan's life. He would be happy to make up for his misdeeds. Time spent around her is something he could use to help himself adjust. It wouldn't be just any human he would have to force himself to be around. It would be Isabella, Bella. So far, he found it enjoyable to be in her company. What was another century?

Jasper paused, remembering just how fragile humans are.

For his family to be their happiest Isabella would have to live a full and long life. It wasn't just a matter of happiness. He would have to keep her safe and healthy. Even with advances in medicine and the best doctor, Isabella could succumb to a variety of human illnesses. He did not even want to think about how accident prone she was.

The years in Jasper's head ticked down as he realized a century with their favorite human would be a stretch. Isabella would not likely live to see her 119th birthday. He pictured her, wrinkled with old age, Esme sitting beside her. She would be lucky to reach her 100th birthday. An uneasy pit settled in Jasper's chest as he came to terms with not knowing just how long his family had left with Isabella, how long he had left with her.

Is this why Edward had always felt so anxious? Jasper felt like he was beginning to understand the constant melancholy that had eliminated from his brother's room. It in no way explained Isabella or the family's abandonment but he could see how the finality may have made a weaker man cower.

Jasper needed a course of action, and so he planned. As Esme's focus shifted to sanding the dried spackle Jasper vacuumed with precision, his mind analyzing the future as though he were the one with psychic abilities.

Reviewing his plans for the future and dumping the final bag of dust into the trash, Jasper knew it was settled. He would spend what he hoped would be at least the next 80 years helping Isabella fulfill her life. Under no circumstances would he let her health slip, he trusted Carlisle would not either. He would do everything in his power to ensure her safety, from the supernatural and otherwise. He was confident he could accomplish both of these goals, as long as she let him. He only hoped he could help her find a sliver of the happiness he knew she deserved.