-MAISIE-


Sleep did little for me. I woke often, convinced I had heard Jett make a noise only for it to have been in my dreams. And those dreams… I would have been more than happy to not have a singular stray thought about Aro and the rest of the Volturi until I had to see them again, but my dreams had other plans.

One of the times I woke, the living room light was on, turning the bedroom dim. The door was open so that I had a clear sight of Jasper perched on the edge of the coffee table, chin pillowed in his hand, as he looked down at Jett sleeping in his borrowed bassinette. He looked contemplative. I was sure in all of Jasper one-hundred-and-some-odd years of life, he had never imagined himself in our current situation.

I had certainly never imagined this scenario myself. Last summer, when we learned that vampire-human hybrids could be born from a human woman's pregnancy at the expense of the woman's death, it was immediately off the table. I mean, obviously. I wasn't going to let Coach Carr from Mean Girls be right about the whole 'if you have sex, you will get pregnant and die' thing.

The morning dawned bright and clear, rudely cheery after the dread and terror of the night before.

"We need a plan." I told Jasper when I had made my way out of the bedroom. Jett was still sleeping. Jasper was sitting on the couch not far from him, flipping through each of our passports. "A cover story. How the hell are we going to explain this to my family?"

We had agreed during the night, just before I fell asleep, to publicly return to Alaska. No other details had been worked out.

"I know. I agree." He titled his head back to look at me. "But we should begin with today. I can't get on that plane tonight."

My brow furrowed. "What, was this all a long con to break up with me?"

We were supposed to be flying at night, to counteract the fact that it had been sunny every day we had been in Italy. Three tickets, for three people. Three passports stacked up on the coffee table.

Jasper picked up the ticket and passport that belonged to him, slipping them into his pocket. He shook his head at me, a smirk playing at his lips. "Nothing so relatively innocent."

I was still perplexed. Jasper met my gaze, widening his eyes surreptitiously, but the reasoning behind his words was still lost on me. I threw my hands up; whatever he wanted me to understand, it wasn't clicking.

"If I get on that plane," Jasper spoke slowly, voice dropping into a whisper, "I will kill every human on there."

I had seen Jasper serious before, but never this expression. He looked tortured, from the inside out, the pain etching itself across his features. Not even last night, when our lives hung in the balance within the Volturi castle, did Jasper look so…haunted. His eyes burned bright with the emotion, the red shocking against his pale, scarred skin.

For the first time in the three years I had known him, Jasper looked like a vampire.

"Oh." Why hadn't I considered that? I was suddenly very thankful that Jasper was able to feel my emotions in that moment. I wasn't scared of him, but the shiver that ran through my body at his words certainly could have been construed that way. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

I ran my fingers through his hair, his eyes drifting shut under my touch. He relaxed somewhat, sighing softly.

"It's not your burden to monitor and control my inhumanity, Maisie." He so rarely used my actual name. Though he was still serious and brooding, a slanting smirk worked its way onto his lips. "That's my own cross to bear. I just wanted you to understand why you'll be flying back alone."

I felt like it was my fault that Jasper's tenuous self-control was currently jeopardized. Since I had met him, the edge of Maria's venom in my blood had made it easier for him to withstand the smell of my human blood. The taste must still be as similar as he had said, for tasting my blood to have affected him so much.

"Well, not entirely alone," I reminded him. Jett stirred in his bassinette, cooing as he rubbed his eyes until he woke up. I picked him up, cuddling him into my arms. "I'll have a companion, but I don't think he'll be much of a conversationalist."

It would be impossible to pass Jett off as our child, and I was much too petty to believably sell a story that Jasper was Jett's father and that the baby was the result of some illicit affair. While it was true that the decently full head of hair Jett had was a similar golden shade of honey blonde to Jasper's, similarities ended there. Jett had inherited his mother's olive skin tone, very different from Jasper's inherent vampiric pallor and my own light skin tone. Not to mention his almond eyes, so like Joham's and Nahuel's, though his were not the deep black of his grandfather's and uncle's eyes. No, Jett's eyes were a bright, golden brown, like whiskey…but still too dissimilar to the amber shade Jasper's eyes typically took on to draw a comparison.

I sat beside Jasper on the couch, Jett latching onto the ends of my hair with tiny fists. He waved them back and forth, eyes intent on his play.

"How will you get home?" I asked. Jasper shrugged.

"I'll run, and swim when I have to. I should be able to beat the two of you to Alaska if I leave at sundown."

Jasper tucked a free piece of my hair behind my ear, trailing his fingertips down my cheek. "I wish I could ask Alice to check the possibilities for me. I hate to send you almost alone."

"What did you tell her, by the way?"

"That answers are coming and to have patience, which she didn't take well." He pressed a kiss to my forehead. "As for this little one… he will be easier to explain to our vampire side of the family. Tell me, what would be believable for the human side?"

My teeth worried at my lip, a total contrast to the happy, relaxed cooing of Jett in my lap. "Well, he's too big to pass of as a newborn. I don't think we could pass him off as ours, anyway. He doesn't look like either of us. Besides, I doubt my parents would believe it if I tried to use an 'I didn't know I was pregnant' story as a front."

Jasper nodded, considering my words. "Human development is largely lost on me. So, the story won't hold if we say he is directly related to us."

"Right, and we're not going with an affair story, either. Jett can't be your surprise love child because everyone knows I would kill you if that were the case."

I earned myself a chuckle for that one. Jasper held his hands out. "I'll have to get used to holding him. We'll need to all be comfortable with one another to peddle our lies."

"You should learn to feed him, too, then." I made my way into the kitchen after situating Jett into Jasper's arms. Athenodora and Sulpicia had explained that he started his day with a bottle of human blood, to appease and satiate what vampiric nature he held. Jett and I were not so different in that aspect.

The blood I drank, I knew where that came from. It was as ethical as it could be, using nearly expired donated blood. But the supply we had gotten from Caterina's excellent concierge service—by means of Aro—was not. I tried to keep my mind off where; no, who the blood had been sourced from while I warmed it for Jett.

I showed Jasper how to hold the dark bottle at an angle, to make it easier for Jett to drink. He was eager for food, taking long pulls while staring intently at Jasper's face.

"Not our natural child. Not sired from an illicit love affair. But…what if he were still 'related' to me? Rosalie and I are supposedly orphans. Who is to say that we don't have another sibling, one that was too old for Carlisle and Esme to foster?"

I considered his words, turning them over in my head. It could work, but… "You and Rose are supposedly Esme's blood niece and nephew, so why wouldn't Esme and Carlisle take in this baby as well?"

Jasper was quick. He must have been thinking about this during the night while I slept. "Raising five teenagers is exhausting. They're empty nesters now, and still young. They want to enjoy their marriage, alone."

"Hmm. Maybe. I think we need to sell it more than that, though. We all know Esme, While I'm sure her and Carlisle are ready for some time alone before the family converges again, we all know she wouldn't leave a baby without a home. This mystery sibling… perhaps they wanted Jett placed specifically with either you or Rose?"

"I think that's stronger." In his arms, Jett let go of his bottle with a soft pop. He wasn't one to waste food; his face was completely clean as he turned to snuggle into Jasper's shirt. Jasper tucked him closer against his side, rocking him gently. "Rose is in med school. That's already a huge commitment, so taking a newborn child on top of that would be reasonably unfeasible."

"Okay. Yes. This could work. But why did this sibling give Jett up?"

"Unwanted pregnancy." Jasper's mind was really going now. "After our parents died, our sibling—I think it should be an older sister—became estranged from the rest of the family. Unable to cope, already a wild child before the tragedy. The fake sister being a 'problem child' can explain why she was already a legal adult while Rose and I were eleven when we were taken in. She was too old for Carlisle and Esme to foster, as you said, and refused their help. Years down the line, she falls pregnant and doesn't want the responsibility, so she signs over all parental rights."

"And his father?"

"Much the same. Jenks should be able to forge all necessary legal documents, in addition to a birth certificate."

I nodded. It was a crazy turn of events, for sure, but with fabricated documents to solidify our claims, I would feel infinitely more confident in selling the story. Having Jett come from roughly unknown parentage would easily explain why he didn't resemble Jasper nor Rosalie or Esme. Strong genes from his mystery father, which almost wasn't a lie since we had no idea who Jett's father was, anyway.

My newfound relief was interrupted by the metallic soundtrack of Jasper's ringtone. He sighed, shifting Jett's weight so he could draw his phone from his pocket. Aside from a 'good luck' text from Gunner just before we set out for Italy, I hadn't yet heard from my brother. Calling him was on the top of my priority list, after breaking the news of Jett to the Cullens. I didn't want to call Gunner before all the information set in stone.

I left Jett with Jasper, taking the time to start sorting through all our packing.

"No, Ali, I'm not trying to make you worry." This huffy statement was followed by a long pause, in which I could just imagine Alice railing against him over the phone line. Jasper's long-suffering sigh all but confirmed that suspicion. "Ali, I promise it will all make sense when we get there. No, I'm not going to budge on it, groan all you want, you tiny drama queen."

They were anticipating something, I was sure. Logically, there was no way that Jett's presence in mine and Jasper's lives didn't mess with Alice's visions of us. Especially if Jasper's theory held true that Alice would be unable to see around Jett, just as Nahuel and his sisters had created gaping blind spots and warped visions when we met them during the summer.

Will this be enough? I wondered, counting the number of diapers Caterina had provided for us. I was trying to remember what it was like when Ava was a baby. But how comparable would Ava, a fully human child, be to Jett, mostly human but definitely showcasing vampire traits? After all, he had a whole bottle full of blood earlier. I wandered into the bathroom, packing up scattered belongings. I left our white trial clothes crumpled up with used towels on the bathroom counter. Caterina could deal with that.

Jasper and Alice were still arguing over the phone. I could hear them even from two rooms away. The bed was made up and all the used towels folded neatly on the bathroom counter by the time Jasper was able to end the call.

"Bring Esme and Rose with you to the airport," I called out to him, finishing up my packing. More than anyone else in the family, they would be invested in Jett. I knew that. Esme had lost her baby shortly before her own death; Rosalie had lost her opportunity to be a mother when she gained immortality.

It would mean the most to them, to meet the baby first.

"My thoughts exactly." Jasper's voice was soft, but clear. I wondered if perhaps Jett had fallen asleep again.

We spent the rest of the day reciting the cover story to one another, making sure neither of us would slip. I taught Jasper how to care for a baby between Jett's naps; warming his bottle, dressing him, changing his diaper. As soon as the sun slipped fully below the horizon and the light of day left the land, Jasper left.

"Stay in the room until Caterina comes for you," Jasper reminded me. That was part of the instructions left by Aro. We were to be escorted to the airport the same way we had been escorted to the hotel. "She won't question my absence, if you tell her my reasoning."

He caught my face between his hands, tilting my face up to kiss me. "Don't worry, mi amor. I'll explain everything to our family when I get to Alaska. All you need to do is show up."

"I think I can manage that."

I wasn't thrilled to have him leave us. Were we putting too much faith in the Volturi right now? What if having Jasper drink my blood was a ploy to force us into this very scenario, so we would be separated? But Jasper seemed calm and sure of his decision to send Jett and I on the plane alone, so I tried my best to put trust into it.

That faith lasted long enough to see Jasper off, but as the lock clicked on the hotel room door behind him, I wasn't so confident. Jett was dressed for the flight, in a simple onesie and wrapped in a blanket. Nondescript. We needed to be nondescript. I had dressed plainly as well, pulling on a pair of leggings and a light-weight sweatshirt.

You will make it home, I told myself. They played enough games last night. They are too invested in what they will learn from Jett. They have too much care and respect for Carlisle. You will make it home.

I hoped I was right. Jett was sleeping. I had nothing to occupy my thoughts while I waited for Caterina. Instead, I wandered aimlessly around the hotel room, straightening things that were already tidy. When her knock sounded at the door, I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"Let me take that for you," Caterina said politely, taking the luggage from my hand before I could even agree. I had Jett balanced in my other arm. "Follow me."

"Oh, thank you."

She loaded the two of us into a plain black car, seeing us off with an oddly warm smile. "I look forward to serving your new family in the future. I expect we'll be seeing each other on your subsequent trips to Volterra."

Yes. Because I had basically sold my soul in agreeing to raise the baby in my arms.

"Same to you," I managed to smile as Caterina shut the car door. The driver was the same man who had ushered us to the hotel just days (or possibly a lifetime) ago. He did not speak to me.

I did not relax until we were successfully boarded on the plane, and even then, I think 'relax' is a generous term. At the least, I felt better in assuming that the Volturi would not have let me get this far if they intended to kill me. The flight wasn't packed by any means, but still, I dint' think they were eager to draw attention with a crashed flight with a death toll that would have been upwards of twenty, counting the pilot and flight attendant.

Jett was an excellent flier on the plane back to Alaska. He slept some of the time, intently watched the night sky outside the window with his head on my shoulder at other times. I wish I could say I had an equally restful flight, but that would have been a bold-faced lie.

Here, on the plane without Jasper, I was truly alone with both Jett and the weight of my choice.

A whole family had died so that I could live. Jett might have died, had I not agreed to take him. Hell, my entire family, both vampire and human, would likely have died if last night had not gone well.

They still might. The thought ran through my head unbidden, causing a shiver to run down my spine. I pushed it from my mind. I wouldn't focus on that. I couldn't.

Jett stirred in my lap, his little arms stretching above his head. He rolled in his sleep, hands fisting in my sweatshirt.

"What a sweet baby." There was a woman sitting in the row with me. We would have had a full row, had Jasper been there. "How old is he?"

"A little over a month," I told her, forcing myself to give her a polite smile. "Already a seasoned traveler."

Mostly, I sat and thought through the possibilities of my parents' reactions. I thought my mom might understand better than my dad. He would have jokes, I was sure, about how I had graduated from adopting animals to adopting children. To 'officially' adopt Jett, though, Jasper and I would need to get married. Would they think I was rushing? Making a snap decision because of Jett? They already weren't entirely thrilled with my moving in with Jasper in Alaska.

I was nearly twenty…technically, though I suppose I had stopped aging after drinking Irina's venom. Yet despite that, I felt like I was breaking rules, somehow. Undermining my parents' expectations of me, for sure. I fully intended to finish school, to have a career, to do the things my parents expected of me.

They just wouldn't get to see it, because I would have to be dead to them. Had Jasper and I even made the right decision there, to introduce them to Jett? To give them that much? A grandchild, a wedding, a son-in-law, all to be taken away shortly after to abide by the laws and mandates of ancient vampires?

It was more than enough to prompt a migraine to begin brewing behind my eyes. The lengthy flight flew, with my mind so occupied. It was still dark as the pilot announced that we would be landing, though I knew the flight had taken the majority of the night. Dawn was not far off, if the graying at the edges of the horizon were any indication.

I sighed, hoisting Jett higher into my arm. Given our short trip, Jasper and I had taken a single carry-on bag, so I wouldn't have to wait for luggage after leaving the plane. The woman who had called Jett a sweet baby helped me retrieve the bag from the overhead storage, smiling at Jett's sleeping face all the while.

Here goes nothing.


A/N: Not quite the chapter I intended to post, but it was getting overwhelming trying to fit this stuff in with the reveal to both the Cullens, Gunner, and the rest of Maisie's family, so I decided to split it up. Reactions will be in the next chapter.

I'm sorry it has been a long time. I've never committed to an upload schedule because I know myself. Life gets busy, and while I love writing, I get burned out easily. I returned to school in August and I'm considered an essential worker now in the American COVID pandemic. The weight of that has been getting to me, if I'm honest.

I know y'all love this story. I do, too. Maisie is my favorite character I've ever created. Again, I apologize for the length between uploads. There is another story I have been actively writing, Stout Heart, Sharp Sword which is a Vikings fic. It's been really fun for me, because I find the show Vikings and Viking culture/mythology fascinating. I've been writing it for myself, basically, as a way to unwind. I love this fic, but the number of people who love it can be daunting, sometimes. I love all of you who read it, but I also want to make sure I'm putting out quality. I'm not ignoring this fic, just overwhelmed at times.

All of that being said, I got a review on my Viking fic asking for an update for Siempre. Thought I've been writing the other fic for myself, getting the notification for a review and thinking someone is enjoying your work is really exciting. Opening it to find out its not a review at all is really disheartening. Please don't do that. It's not cool. It's disrespectful. Let's not do that again.