Well, here's the next chapter. It's kind of short, but I'm determined to upload this the same way it was written. So yes, this is the shortest chapter yet, but I promise there will be another chapter up in the next day or two.

And now, enjoy the much anticipated first meeting with the Cullen family. ^-^

~Allora Gale~

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Jasper's theory about my visions was correct, so we were able to use my ability like a ludicrous compass to find our way towards the Cullen's. We leap-frogged across Canada, stopping every twenty or thirty miles to redirect. Our progress was slow. Sometimes I wouldn't be able to see the Cullen's house at all, and I suspected that these were the times that Jasper was plagued by doubts. I suspected he still, secretly, toyed with the idea of leaving me and going off on his own. These periods of blindness, however, became less and less frequent the closer we came to the house.

And I knew we were slowly getting closer to the Cullen's. With every leap, the Cullen's house became clearer and more detailed in my mind's eyes. Suddenly, I noticed the precise shade of the varnish on the house or the exact labels on the tools and materials sitting in the garage. The forest around the house became more alive, I could see the way the roots of the trees crossed each other. I noticed an eagles nest sitting precariously on the top branches of one of the tall pine trees behind the house. These things and so many more became all too clear with each subsequent leg of the journey.

Three and a half weeks of Jasper's comfortable company later, we came across the first trace of their scent. Somehow, I immediately knew it was the scent of one of the Cullen's, despite the fact that my visions couldn't translate smell to me. If they had been able to, I would have been well used to Jasper's intoxicating scent by now. But I wasn't and still breathed it in deeply whenever I could, which usually caused him to smile a little.

We were hunting when we crossed the trail. Jasper had made remarkable progress with his self-control while hunting over the last few weeks. He had asked me to go with him, to monitor him, to try to stop him – as if I could – if he tried to hunt a human. I had only been too glad to comply, considering I was still plagued by fears that he would try to sneak away without me. His eyes were now a muddy burgundy color – halfway between scarlet and amber.

The trail was fairly distant from their home and several weeks old; the scent was weak. But crossing it fired new determination in us. We were close! Oh, so close now!

It took just three more days, redirecting more precisely every four or five miles, for me to finally pull up short. In the distance, a tall, scrawny pine tree was swaying in the breeze, a familiar-looking eagles nest teetering dangerously at it's top. I stopped and looked at Jasper meaningfully.

"What?" He asked defensively as I smoothed my hands over his shirt.

"Jasper." I said softly but seriously. "I know you have . . . issues . . . with people, but please try to be nice."

His eyes flickered to our surroundings. "Are we there?" He asked. We had crossed the many scents of the Cullen's so many times by now, their trails criss-crossed across this area so much it was almost a solid blanket of scent, that we had long since become desensitized to them.

"Very close." I answered.

He nodded stiffly, clutching my hand tightly as he eyed the surrounding trees like they were suddenly about to attack. "I will be the best my behavior allows."

I smiled and kissed him softly. He drew me into his embrace tightly, almost as though he wanted to hide me away inside of him, before reluctantly releasing me. "Shall we then, sir?" I asked gently.

"We shall, ma'am." He nodded, still tense.

We walked, me guiding while Jasper walked like a protective shield a pace ahead of me. His every muscle looked tensed and coiled, ready to spring as his eyes darted from side to side into the trees. He wasn't crouched, but his movements took on a sinuous, stealthy air to them; a gait I had only seen while he was hunting.

Then we broke through the trees and the scene was exactly as I had seen it a hundred times. Windows glinting in the low afternoon sun, the house looked cozy and warm. In the garage, the red and white corvette sat with it's hood up. I heard the faint clinking from behind the hood suddenly fall silent.

Rosalie peeked her head around the hood of the car and a quiet hiss escaped her lips. Jasper's hand jerked, as though fighting back an instinct to crouch or lunge. I squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Carlisle!" Rosalie called in a panic. It wasn't a loud call, but we could still hear it from where we stood at the end of the driveway.

With a flurry of movement, Carlisle appeared at the door to the house, Esme following a step behind. The family converged together, forming a little "v" with Carlisle at the point. They stood motionless in front of the open garage door, watching us carefully. I noticed their eyes kept flicking to Jasper, watching him like hawks, for any sign of movement.

I smiled giddily and took a step toward my future family, tugging Jasper behind me. The years, the insufferable years, that I had spent waiting; first for Jasper and now for this moment made the moment seem surreal. How could it be that I was finally here? And with Jasper, the man I loved, at my side too. I kept thinking I had to wake up somehow. Perhaps my entire existence had been nothing more than a very long, monotonous dream. But no, they were there, I could hear their breaths, smell their scents. I was able to distinguish between them just whose trails we had crossed.

"Carlisle!" I greeted happily. "I mean, Dr. Cullen, right? It's so nice to finally see you face to face. And Esme you have such a lovely home here. Ah, Rosalie, you look so much more beautiful in person." My eyes flickered to Jasper then, but he wasn't paying Rosalie any mind. His eyes were glued to Carlisle, watching for any indication they meant to attack. Shaking my head, I looked around, but no one else seemed to be joining us. "Are Edward and Emmet not here?"

"Do you know us?" Carlisle asked tentatively.

"Alice is gifted. She sees things." Jasper said sharply behind me. I sent him a reproachful look for his tone, but his eyes were still glued to Carlisle.

"I'm sorry." I said suddenly. "I'm being incredibly dense. My name is Alice Brandon. This is my one true love, Jasper Whitlock." I said with a playful smile as I skipped forward to shake Carlisle's hand. Jasper was at my shoulder instantly. "It's so nice to meet you."

Esme stepped back in alarm and Rosalie let out a harsh snarl. Only Carlisle remained completely motionless. "Rose." He said warningly before he reached out and shook my hand. His grip was firm and reassuring, but contact seemed to make Jasper uneasy. He put a hand gently on my waist and pulled me away while he offered his hand to be shaken.

"Jasper Whitlock." He said and the tone of his voice sounded like it was meant to intimidate.

Carlisle shook Jasper's hand without the slightest trace of recoil; he was as unmoved by Jasper's tone as a rock would have been. "Pleasure." He said pleasantly. I felt my admiration soar for the good doctor. I knew the effect Jasper had on people, I could see the reasons why he looked dangerous, intimidating and terrifying at the same time. They simply had no bearing on me.

"So, which room can I have? I don't have anything to move in with me at the moment, but I do have a rather large savings account and a very long shopping list. Everything I've ever wanted to buy has been tallied up in my head. My room is going to look gorgeous, even you will agree Esme." I said excitedly.

I could already see it in my mind. Maybe I would ask Esme for her opinion and help putting it together. A beautiful four post oak bed with black and white contrasting covering. A matching desk in the corner with my own sewing machine on it. A book case in the corner next to an overstuffed armchair. A vanity opposite the desk with polished brass handles next to a full length mirror. Two sets of dressers, three if Jasper would share the room with me. It would be beautiful and elegant and practical, all at the same time.

"Excuse me?" Carlisle asked in alarm.

Jasper rolled his eyes and shook his head at me.

"Oh!" I cried in alarm, flooding with embarrassment. "I got ahead of myself, didn't I? My gift, as Jasper puts it, is . . . well, I can sometimes see the future. And I've seen myself here, rather, I've seen us here, living with your family." I corrected.

Rosalie snorted dismissively while Carlisle's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Oh." Was all he managed to say for several minutes. I wrapped my arm around Jasper's waist as I let him mull over my proposal. I knew he was going to say yes, he had to say yes, I'd done everything right, but I waited patiently nonetheless. Just like Jasper didn't know that he loved me yet, neither did Carlisle know that I belonged in his family. Yet.

"Well," He finally said. "I see you're already familiar with our way of life."

"We've been practicing. I have for longer than Jasper, but he's doing really well." I said enthusiastically.

"Yes. You may stay with us." Carlisle said deliberately.

I squealed in delight and Jasper chuckled next to me. "You knew he would say yes." He reminded me.

"Well, I thought he would say yes and after the way you showed up in my life, I was pretty sure he would say yes. But once, years ago, in a vision, he told me no and turned me away." I revealed. It had been the one and only day I hadn't gone into a diner to wait for Jasper. "So, where are you putting me, Esme?"

"Oh," Her delicate eyebrows shot up in surprise, then furrowed together. "I hadn't really thought . . . I suppose you can pick whichever room appeals to you most, dear."

I beamed at her and pulled Jasper behind me as I raced into the house. Everything was placed so perfectly. Every ornament sat at just the right angle, every piece of furniture complemented each other just so. Traces of Esme's attention were everywhere.

I bounded up the stairs into the loft above where there were a number of bedrooms and examined each one closely, then up the next set of stairs to the solitary room at the top. The roof of the room vaulted to a point with the frame of the house. Outside the wide window on the opposite wall, the eagles nest was clearly visible; my beacon.

I smiled, "This one."

"There's someone's things in it." Jasper pointed out from the threshold.

"They can be moved." I assured him with a devious grin.