Chapter 5: The End and the Beginning

A/N:

All recognizable characters are the sole property of Stephenie Meyer, no copyright infringement is intended.

Record of Committal to Mississippi State Asylum

Date: September 1, 1939

Case #: 534 X-237

Subject: Mary Alice Brandon

Date of Birth: March 20, 1921

Consulting Doctor: Dr. Stephen Patton

Notes:

Miss Brandon's lobotomy was an unequivocal success. She no longer suffers from episodes. She now only shows anxiety when separated from Mr. Jones the Albino orderly, who has taken responsibility as her primary caretaker. I am extremely pleased with the results.

As one of the side effects of the operation, Miss Brandon has lost some motor function and must be fed, clothed and bathed. She retains some ability to speak, though it seems difficult for her. Dr. Freeman assures me that this is a common side effect and given time she may regain some if not all of her former motility and speech. She exhibits complete short and long term memory loss, although she does seem to recognize certain people, such as the aforementioned Mr. Jones. She has not show marked improvement over the last six months; however I believe we may soon reach a turning point in her recuperation.

I have great faith in this technique and propose to the committee that this Asylum should make efforts to raise money so that the operation may be performed on other unfortunate patients here for whom conventional treatments do not work. Mrs. Patton and myself will be hosting a charity dinner in one month, with Miss Brandon as our guest of Honor. I have asked Mr. Jones to make an extra effort in developing her motor skills so that she may eat at the table with us.

Despite her calm demeanor, her family has informed the State that they do not wish to regain custody of the girl. They have also asked for us to keep her identity a secret, as they do not wish the stigma of a mentally ill family member, even one who was so miraculously cured of her affliction.

Due to her being signed over for full custody of the State, Miss Brandon is now a permanent resident of this Asylum. I will continue to provide yearly updates to the committee as to her progress. It remains my belief that she will recover and can be made of great use to society and the Asylum as proof positive of the benefits of this miraculous treatment as well as a useful member of our janitorial staff.

Signed,

Dr. Stephen Patton.

ATTACHED: note from Mr. Jones, orderly.

August 5, 1939.

Dear Honerable sirs,

I wish to bring to your attention the sad case of Mary Alice Brandon. This was a lively, smart, wonderful girl who has been reduced to the mental capacity of an infant by the cruel experiment performed on her. Dr. Patton says she will recover some of her ability to speak and care for herself, but I haven't seen a change since the sad day they brought her back from the hospital with her head shaved and wrapped in bandages, a dead look in her eyes.

Dr. Patton also claims that the operation cured her of her visions but I want it to be known that I do not believe this is the case. As her constant caretaker I have seen when the tell-tale signs of a vision come over her- the stillness in her body and the glazing of her eyes, she simply isn't able to show the outbursts or tell her stories the way she used to.

I bring this to your honors' attention because I shudder to think of this cruel torture being performed on other innocent people like Mary Alice. I know I am a lowly orderly, but I know what I've seen, and I tell you sirs it does not sit well with me.

Your servant,

Donatello Jones, orderly

May 1948

I barely noticed my surroundings as I led him out of the diner, up the street and into the hotel. I didn't respond to the kindly man behind the reception desk when he handed me the key to my room and said "So, yer fine young man finally arrived, has he now?" His thick accent usually elicited a smile and a quip from me, but not today. The clang of the elevator gate, the squeaking of the reels and counter weights, and the bells announcing the floors were all a muffled backdrop. I felt like I was floating a foot off the ground. The only thing I could see was his face, the only thing I could hear were his soft steps and the swish of his ill-fitting clothes as he moved, the only thing I could smell was his scent, and the only thing I could feel was the electricity of his hand in mine.

I drew him to the center of my room and turned, reaching for his other hand. He met me half way again, and we stood like that, about two feet apart with our hands linked, staring into each other's eyes for hours. Or was it minutes? I studied the face that had haunted me ever since I could remember, marred by the red tinge to his eyes, black now in hunger. Dark purple stains under his eyes and hollow cheeks were further testament to his need to feed. Yet he stood, calmly, showing no agitation, no desire to let go of my hands to hunt. He drank me in as if looking at me was the only sustenance he needed to survive a hundred thousand years.

Neither of us spoke, lost in the spell of the others eyes. We could have stood like that for days, we could be standing there still, but were interrupted by a knock on the door and a muffled call of "housekeeping!" Instantly he swung around, throwing me behind him as he crouched and growled, facing the door. I couldn't help it. I laughed.

"Don't eat her, she's just bringing clean towels!" I pushed past him towards the door. He reached for my wrist, to stop me. I grinned at him, telling him with my eyes that it was all right. He looked slightly startled, actually dazzled would be a more appropriate description for the star-struck look in his eyes, but he let my hand slip through his long fingers as I went to the door. As I neared the door I had a sudden vision of the disaster that would occur if I let the housekeeper in the room, her hot blood in close quarters too much for the starving vampire behind me.

Instead of opening the door wide, I slipped into the hallway, startling the woman. I held my finger to my lips. "My husband has just arrived and is napping after his long journey." I spoke in a low voice. "I don't want to disturb him." My stomach clinched at my use of "husband" but she smiled and nodded in understanding, and handed me a stack of fluffy towels.

"Put the "do not disturb" sign on the door while you are here, I'll come by later to collect the dirty linens when you are out." She whispered back. I smiled and thanked her, watching as she rolled her cart down the hall before slipping back into the room.

He was standing just inside the door, and I walked right into his chest. He caught both me, and the towels, before I could bounce off. Holding me close with one arm, he dropped the towels in the corner with the other, and carefully pushed the door to. I was a good foot, make that a foot and a half, shorter than him, but it didn't seem to matter in the slightest. He leaned down and pressed his lips to the top of my head. "Thank you" he murmured. I tilted my head back to look him in the eye again, and snaked my arms around his now accessible neck.

He straightened up, in surprise, but I didn't loosen my grip and was lifted off my feet. He seemed to freeze momentarily, a strange look in his eyes, but I determinedly hitched my legs up on his hips and he slowly relaxed and put his arms back around me, helping support my weight. As he carried me back in the room stopping in the center I was struck by a powerful vision. I couldn't help it, my grin spread even wider as I came back to the present. He was studying my face, a concerned and confused look at my blank stare during the vision relaxing away to an amused smile as I grinned at him.

"So, a husband? Is that what I am?" He teased gently.

"You will be." I told him seriously, to which he quirked an eyebrow. The vision was still at the forefront of my mind: me in an utterly unique white dress and him in a formal officer's uniform in Confederate grey. Flowers, friends and a priest completed the scene.

"You are so… happy." He whispered in wonder.

"Of course!" I laughed quietly. "Don't you feel it? What was missing before? It's filled now!" His eyes grew distant and he nodded and hugged me close. I relaxed into his chest, squeezing my arms in response.

Now that we had broken the silence, I couldn't stay quiet for long. "Tell me!"

"Tell you what?"

"Everything! And then I'll tell you everything. Although I don't have much to tell." He chuckled and moved us to the bed. As a vampire, he could have stood there forever holding me and never moving a muscle, but as he leaned back against the headboard and tucked me into his side I decided this was much better for talking.

"Where should I begin?" He asked me.

"Why don't you start with your name?"

He laughed, an open joyous sound that made my still heart twitch. "Jasper Whitlock, at your service, ma'am." I loved the sound of his name: the sigh and purr of his first name, the staccato precision of the second. I rolled it around my mouth. A second name meant he had a history, a HUMAN history. With family, parents, and siblings. And the pride with which he said "Whitlock" indicated that it was a good history, with good memories, regardless of what happened since he became a vampire. I didn't have any of those things. I suddenly felt a bit sad. He tensed and held me a bit tighter. "What's wrong?"

I looked at him in surprise. "How did you know something was wrong?"

"I have… a… Talent, I guess you'd call it. I can sense the emotions of those around me, vampire or human." Wow. A talent. Like me! My spirits lifted momentarily and he chuckled. "For instance you suddenly became happy hearing that. Why is that? Most of the vampires I've met are scared when they learn that, they think I can read their minds or something."

"I'm not most vampires." I told him softly, reaching up to touch his face.

"No, clearly you are not. For starters I have rarely felt love from another vampire before, and you have it in spades. And then there's your eyes." He brushed a thumb over one of my lids. "I have so many questions…" he trailed off.

"We have eternity… ask away." I told him, reveling in his touch.

He chuckled again. "Well, first, I'd like to know your name. Seeing as how you are going to be my wife and all." He teased gently.

I laughed in return. "It's Alice. Just… Alice." I lowered my eyes as I felt the melancholy sweep over me again but it was quickly followed by wave of calm and happiness. I looked up in surprise.

"Did I mention I can manipulate emotions too?" He asked, a bit nervously, I thought. I could see how that would be a scary thing, but my talent was stronger, and I was confident in my visions of our perfect happiness.

"I have a… talent… too. I can see the future. So, the way I see it, your talent is a blessing! I will never actually be surprised when you buy me a gift… the engagement ring is lovely, by the way… but you can manipulate my emotions so I can FEEL surprised anyway!" He looked a little concerned at the mention of an engagement ring, but he seemed to take my announcement of clairvoyance in stride. "Don't worry." I patted his hand, "You don't have to get me the ring for a while yet… you'll know it when you see it." He gulped, and I smiled smugly as I snuggled back down in his embrace.

"You are a mysterious creature, Alice Just Alice." He spoke in wonder and kissed the top of my head. I sighed in happiness and turned my face so my cheek lay against his chest.

"Tell me about your family… your human family." He was still for a moment, and I was almost afraid that he wouldn't talk. But then he did. He told me about growing up in Texas, and his family. He told me about going off to war, and about rising up in the ranks. He told me about Maria, the one who changed him. Even though I could tell he was trying to block it, I could feel the anger and revulsion rolling off him when he spoke about the vampire wars, and the many fights that brought him his scars. I felt his wistfulness and pleasure when he talked about Peter and Charlotte. He told me about how feeding on humans had become so distasteful to him, since he could feel their terror and pain when he hunted them, but that he was still drawn to attack, nearly every time he came across one. He told me how after escaping Maria and leaving Peter and Charlotte he forced himself to keep wandering, staying away from people until the hunger became unbearable. He finished his story with how he had been inexplicably drawn into the heart of Philadelphia, even though he normally avoided such populated centers, and how everything clicked into place when he took my hand.

We were silent for a while, remembering and mulling over everything he said. The telling of his story had taken almost two days, and we never moved from the bed the whole time. He lived such an amazing life as a human, and led such an amazing existence as a vampire. He had been around so long. I had the briefest feeling of self doubt- how could he want me, whose experiences paled in comparison? The feeling was quashed instantly. "Never feel doubt." He growled. "I have never, NEVER, felt this way about anyone. You are perfection." He leaned over, and for the first time, our lips met. No vision could have prepared me for the wonder of that kiss. I thought our hand-holding was electric, this burned with the intensity of the sun. I reached up and twisted my fingers in his hair, pulling him down and deepening the kiss. He suddenly broke free, backing off, gasping for unneeded air. "Alice. I know you want to get married. If we don't stop now…."

"Silly Jasper. The wedding is just a formality. I belong to you and you belong to me. Here. Now." He groaned and returned to the kiss.

***

Several hours later, or was it days? I leaned back against the pillows in utter and complete satisfaction. Now I understood why Sonya pursued all those men. But I didn't need an endless supply of men; I had the perfect man, my Jasper, for all eternity. My clothes were in shreds, but I didn't mind, I was tired of them anyway. His were in shreds too, which was a bit more of a problem. I'd thought to buy him an extra set before hand, but as my visions had not allowed me to see our future past our initial meeting, I didn't realize how many sets of clothes he would need with me around to rip them off! Ah well, it was an excuse to go shopping!

He had been staring up at the ceiling, but he rolled over, propping himself up on one elbow to look down on me, a silly smile on his face. "what are you so happy about? I mean, I KNOW why you are content, but what caused that little spike of happiness just now?"

"Oh, thinking about you." And clothes… but I decided to leave that be for now. He would learn about my obsession soon enough, it was my turn to talk, and tell my story. But first I needed to get him fed. I had started having regular visions of bloody human deaths if I didn't take him out to hunt, and soon. If I could get him out of the city to an area where I knew deer were plentiful, I could see that he would be fine.

"You asked about my eyes before." He nodded. "Well, I think they are golden because I don't drink human blood." He looked shocked. "I hunt animals. They don't taste as nice as humans, but they do the trick. It helps me not think of them as lunch all the time too. I like humans… I like interacting with them, I like the things they do, and the things they make, and having golden eyes rather than red helps me be near them." I paused, then spoke more quietly. "I don't have memories of a human life. Not even memories of the change. I like interacting with humans because I feel like I am somehow replacing something I am missing." He frowned at my sadness, but did not try to erase it; instead he soothed me the old fashioned way, by holding me close in his arms. After a minute I felt better.

"Come." I pulled him out of bed and handed him the clothing hanging in the closet. He looked bemused, but I rolled my eyes and tapped my head, indicating the vision that told me his exact size. These clothes fit much better than the ones he had been wearing before, they accentuated his lean build and his height, though I thought I could do better next time around, now that I actually had him to measure. I was eager to try my hand at designing men's clothes too.

I put on my own clothing and used my visions to determine the best time to exit the hotel without running into anyone. We made it safely and quickly down to my car, and he looked around with interest as we drove off. "I've never been in an automobile before." He told me, his eyes bright and eager. "How fast can it go?" I smirked at him and floored it, the huge engine roaring to life as we hit a straight stretch of highway out of town. We were at my hunting ground in under half an hour.

He hunted gracefully and instinctively, though I could tell by his face the deer didn't taste very good by his standards. "You get used to it." I told him. "Predators, especially big ones, actually taste a lot better, but they are hard to find here on the east coast." He nodded, but seemed to be thinking to himself very hard. I threw a quick glance into the future and saw that, barring a few accidents, he would embrace this diet fully, and I was rewarded with a vision of him with golden eyes- the face that had haunted my mind since the beginning, though this time it was animated and openly laughing.

We cleaned up at a small stream, and then sat on a grassy knoll nearby while I told him my story. It took a lot less time than his, but he still seemed fascinated, and asked many questions.

Eventually we made our way back to Philadelphia, and I packed and checked out of the hotel. We made a quick swing through a department store to stock up on more clothing for Jasper, who was clearly very uncomfortable being inside a building surrounded by humans. We headed out of town, traveling west.

In my mind was the vision of the wedding. Simple, tasteful, and beautiful. But what struck me the most was not the garlands of flowers or even the amazing dress. It was the people. Five gorgeous figures, far outshining the humble priest. Two women, one tall and blond, the other petite and honey-haired, and three men, one monstrously large with charming boyish dimples, one blond like Jasper but a few years older, and one with tousled bronze hair and a wry set to his mouth. Despite their differences in appearances they all had identical golden eyes.

I had found my other half, but was still missing something.

Family.

Author's note:

This chapter is dedicated to my cousin who is a good foot and a half shorter than her husband, but they are the most wonderful loving couple in the world and have sublime southern accents- a perfect template for Alice and Jasper!

I based this chapter on a quote from SM that I found on the lexicon describing Alice and Jasper's relationship:

"Alice and Jasper's [relationship] is the most…mystical. They just ARE together, and have been from before they even met. They are not complete without each other–and never were. That's what makes them different from the other couples, the "never were." They were already not-whole before they met, waiting for each other."

I know some people may feel their leap into a relationship went a bit fast, especially regarding Jasper's violent past... but based on that quote i felt they already WERE in a relationship, and the incredible relief they felt in finally finding each other would outweigh any awkwardness or trepidation.

Next week I'll have regular internet access, so I can figure out what was happening in 1948-1950 for Alice and Jasper to get involved in, rather than sitting in a hotel room the whole time, and we'll get to see a little more of Jasper's past influencing things!

Please review- it makes my day!