Note: Sorry if this chapter's a little short. Rating upped, for obvious reasons, and just to be safe. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Blah blah blah characters not mine blah Stephenie Meyer's blah plot's original (enough).

Jasper flung himself to her side, sweeping her into his arms gently, cradling her against his chest. His thoughts carried him back to the day they met.

He laid in a field, somehwere just inside the Mississippi border, near Memphis, the tall grass tickling his bare chest. The sunlight glittered off his pale skin. He basked in the glorious June heat, letting his guard down in this secluded spot for the first time in decades. He allowed his thoughts to roam, unleashed his emotions, pushing the tension and emptiness that had plagued him for so long out of his mind. He relaxed for what could have been hours, maybe even days. Suddenly, a twig snapped near the edge of the clearing and he bolted up, staying low in a defensive crouch. A sprite of a woman, who could not have come to more than his chest, stepped from behind the cover of the trees, staying in the shadows of the forest. She was fiercely beautiful, in an almost childlike, innocent way, her eyes a soft tawny-gold. He knew from the moment he saw her that she was like him.

"I was beginning to think I was wrong, and you wouldn't come, Jasper." Her voice was gentle, soft and sweet.

"I knew I had to. I don't know how or why, but I knew," Jasper said. The girl ran up to him with a light step that more resembled dancing that running, a trait that fit her more than perfectly. Her skin, like his own, sparkled in the bright rays of sun.

"I see things," she stated. As he predicted, she rose only to just below his chest. Her short, dark hair was mussed in an attractive way, haloing her head.

"Like you saw me?" She smiled up at him.

"Yes. Like you. I'm Alice."

"Alice," he repeated, a smile playing across his own lips. "I'm Jasper."

"I know." She placed her hand in his, an unsurprisingly found it to be a perfect fit.

A surge of anger from Rosalie brought him crashing back to the present. Rosalie had Alex pinned to a wall, her lips curled in a snarl. Emmett and Edward flanked her, their fists clenched. I turned my hear quickly, hearing footsteps behind me. I was met with a familiar pair of golden eyes and if I had been human, I would have gasped. I was staring at myself. Alex chuckled as the others turned to look, their expressions changing from anger to utter disbelief in a split second. Jasper moved to stand near Edward, still holding Alice.

"Rose, get her out of here. We'll take of them," Jasper muttered quickly, handing Alice to Rosalie. Alice scrambled down from her arms, shaking her head slightly.

"I'm alright," she murmured almost silently. "I knew you'd come." She threw a quick smile at Jasper, touching his hand. "He can shapeshift. His name is Malcolm, and he's very dangerous. They want us dead...all of us." She relayed this information before the other vampires could even register it.

Jasper shook his head. "Go. I refuse to even chance you getting harmed again. Rosalie, get her out now." Rose nodded, and Alice sighed, seeing she would not win this battle. They were gone in the blink of an eye.

-----

Alice paced the floor of the study, Carlisle sitting at his desk, and Esme sitting in an arm chair. Alice had already been accosted by them, Esme fussing over her until she had forced her to sit. Carlisle had embraced her tightly the moment she walked in the door, and Rose had bear hugged her in an eerily Emmett-like fashion the moment they were clear of the mansion.

"Where are they? They should be back by now! I swear to God if any of them are hurt I will never forgive myself...the only reason I didn't fight back is because I believed Jasper to be the one attacking me! If I had known..." Rosalie touched her arm, giving her a sympathetic look.

"You couldn't have known. There was no way. It's not your fault. They tricked you, Alice. We're just thankful you're alright." Alice sighed, sitting in the chair opposite Rose.

"I know...I'm afraid for them. Alex and Malcolm are strong...most likely no match for Emmett, but Malcolm's gift may give them an edge."

"Was Alex gifted?" Carlisle inquired, his fingers steepled in front of his face, elbows on the desk.

"I don't know," Alice said as she turned away, running a hand through her spiky hair. "I just don't understand...I had given up. Why not kill me when they had the chance? They couldn't have possibly believed you would all just leave me. They're no match for all of us...it doesn't make sense." Esme looked up suddenly.

"Your vision. It hasn't come true yet, has it?"

"No, it hasn't."

"Then you'll be safe. Your visions always come true. If you saw it, it means you must stay...alive, I suppose?" She looked puzzled for a moment, unsure if her phrasing would be taken the wrong way. Alice smiled slightly.

"Don't worry. I'm fully aware of the fact that I'm technically not alive." The smile returned to Esme's face. At that moment, the boys burst through the door, Rosalie holding Emmett's hand. All four had a dark look about them. Jasper ran to Alice, sweeping her off her feet and into a deep kiss. She clung to him tighter than ever before, wrapping her legs around his waist. Jasper ran his fingers through her dark locks, breaking the kiss and holding her like his life depended on it. Alice laid her head on his shoulder, breathing in his musky, sweet scent.

Edward went to stand near Carlisle, murmuring to him, "Alex has been...dealt with. But Malcolm got away."

"Well," Carlisle said. "Then we'll all just have to be on our guard until we can take care of that then, won't we?"

Jasper carried Alice out of the room without a word, kicking their bedroom door shut behind them and pressing her against the wall. He began to kiss her neck, sending shivers up her spine. "I thought I'd lost you," he whispered, running his hand down her arm. "I was so terrified...I can't live without you,
Alice...I love you."

A soft moan escaped her lips as he bit lightly at her. "I know..." she breathed, tangling her fingers in his hair. He carried her to the bed, lying her down gently, his lips continuing to explore as darkness fell.

-----

"I will never let anyone harm you, Alice. I promise," Jasper whispered as she laid curled next to him, her head on his chest, tracing patterns on the pale, smooth skin there.

"I know Jasper...it wasn't your fault. We were all caught off guard."

"I'll find him, and I will rip him to pieces myself." Alice had just finished telling him everything that had happened, mentioning that while Alex had taken her, it was Malcolm who had beat her.

"He looked just like you...I couldn't even comprehend why you would do that...it killed me. So I just...shut down." Jasper pulled her tighter against him, her words stabbing through him.

"You know I would never hurt you..."

"I know. Which is exactly why it made it hurt that much more. Even after I knew it was Malcolm, it just hurt so bad...and then I saw you, and I realized I was alright. That I could just get up and walk over to you, and everything would be okay. And it was...you're here." She snuggled closer, kissing his chest with the lightest possible touch.

"I don't know why they would come after us though...we've never hurt anybody."

"That's just it. They think we're a disgrace, the way we live...no doubt once they had killed our family they'd go to Denali."

Jasper kissed her neck, fleetingly wishing she were human simply so he could feel her pulse beneath his lips. Alice closed her eyes as he allowed a wave of desire to wash over her, finding it matched with her own. He grinned, kissing her deeply as she moved to straddle him.

"Twice in one night?" He whispered as she kissed his collarbone. "Oh how I love the stamina of vampires..." He closed his eyes blissfully as she moved down his chest, letting Alice take control.