Title: The Silent Fight
Spoilers: Twilight
P.O.V: Third person. First half is mostly Edward, second is Jasper and Alice.
Time: About 1/4 in Twilight. The setting will be explained further in the story.

A/N: Be patient; the AliceJasper will come in after a while.

Edward walked home from school that night.

It wasn't as though he'd had any choice in the matter. As soon as he had stepped out in the parking lot, he had noticed that the silver Volvo was already gone from its usual spot. A small frown lightly tugged at his eyebrows, even though he had expected his siblings to react that way. He had read their thoughts as soon as the incident had occurred that morning.

He chose not to think about it and began a light jog towards his home. A few people looked his way and he could clearly hear them think. They were wondering if he would really go back home on foot, if they should attempt to offer him a ride...

It only made him run faster.

Had he been going at his top speed, the trip would've been over within the half-hour. Yet he was still under the watchful glare of humans, so he kept a healthy 'normal' speed.

By the time he opened the front door of the Cullen household, the sky was dark. It was at least seven; Carlisle should be home. Edward preferred it that way, knowing by the buzz of thoughts inside that he would definitely need the older vampire around to keep him in control.

The door wasn't even closed yet that Rosalie had fallen upon him.

"You jerk! You stupid, inconsiderate, thoughtless, feeble-minded, slow-witted, dumb, pitiful son of a–"

Edward's eyes grew hard as he kicked off his shoes, carelessly knocking over the neat row of shoes. "Just spit it out, Rosalie. No need for all the adjectives."

The tall, looming figure of Emmett appeared through a doorway. He was also seething as he placed himself directly behind his girlfriend. His face was uncharactistically angry. "You deserve every single one of them!"

"Oh, no, Emmett; he's completely right!" Rosalie gushed, her gold eyes firing menacingly. Her voice then rose to the point of an angry yell, getting louder with every word. "The entire school now knows that he's a brave, clever, smart, intelligent man who always thinks of poor pathetic human girls before his own damned family!"

Edward now had removed his black jacket and tossed it on top of the fallen shoes. He didn't pay any attention to the couple; choosing instead to head towards the living area. He could hear Carlisle and Esme's thoughts from there, yet he would've gone anywhere to escape the dirty glares that were being shot his way.

The bronze-haired boy burst into the room, registering absent-mindedly that Rosalie and Emmett were following him.

"Carlisle!" she shouted, her voice annoyingly high pitched. "Can you please tell him how ridiculously unthought of his actions were?"

The blond doctor looked up from his newspaper, then sighed deeply and folded it in two. He shot Rosalie a warning look, then tossed the paper down and stood up. Sensing that this definitely wouldn't be a nice family talk, Esme also rose to her feet. Her beautiful face was crisped in an honestly worried expression, Edward noted, and he instantly hated it. His surrogate mother was one who always smiled; he firmly believed that no negative expression should mar that pretty face.

Yet he turned his attention to Rosalie, suddenly wanting nothing more than to shut her up. A low growl came from his throat, and Emmett took a protective step forward.

Carlisle instantly stepped in the middle of the two boys, sensing the lust for battle approaching. Raising a hand, he snapped, "There are two ways that this conversation can go. One, everyone talks civilly and explain their views right here in this room." He then carefully looked from Edward to Emmett. "The second way, I won't intervene with your decisions." His eyes flashed. "However, the second it gets physical, you're taking it outside."

Edward, still seething, nodded gruffly. Then, shooting Emmett and Rosalie another glare, he headed to the nearest chair and slumped down. Rosalie gracefully made her way to the love seat and sat down, crossing her legs daintily as the dark-haired boy sunk beside her.

The doctor smiled bitterly, then sat down on the couch he had previously occupied.

Esme left for a few seconds to fetch the missing pair, yet the family remained silent. All, aside from Carlisle, were fuming quietly, lost in their respective thoughts.

Alice couldn't help pacing. She went from left to right, from one corner of the spacious bedroom she shared with Jasper to the other, trying to calm her fretting nerves. She had seen what was coming and she definitely didn't like it.

For the hundredth time since they had come home from school, since they had barricaded themselves in their room to isolate themselves from the rest of their family, Jasper groaned lightly. Her nervousness seeped into him, making him nervous. He had been angry at first, disappointed at Edward for making such a foolish mistake, yet his preoccupation was now upon the lithe girl he was proud to call his lover.

"You know," he said, attempting to sound calm and collected, "what the outcome will be. Accept it, Alice."

She groaned and stopped abruptly, looking at him with a small twinge of despair in her wild eyes. "The vision keeps changing. Sometimes, I see Edward leaving... Then I see Carlisle having to chase him or Emmett out of the house." She made a face. "I even saw a flash of fire dangerously connecting with Rosalie's hair, though that vision didn't last very long. Esme blew out the candles almost as soon as she lit them."

Jasper crawled over to the edge of the bed, then invitingly opened his arms for her. The black-haired girl sighed deeply, then reluctantly went to fall in his arms. "I'm worried."

Jasper managed to draw some comfort from a far away source, then forcefully seeped it in his lover. She relaxed, yet tensed almost immediately. "They just sat down."

The blond boy winced lightly. He honestly did not want to go face Edward. Mostly, he was afraid of his own reaction. Alice was more than worried about the discussion heading into an intense physical fight, and he didn't want to disappoint her.

"Alice," he murmured as he buried his face into her hair, "will I kill him?" The question was semi-serious.

The girl sighed, then smiled ruefully. "You've been making little decisions every since we came back from school. My very first vision tonight included you, Edward, car keys, an upside down aquarium, and Rosalie's hot pink boa. You honestly don't want to know how these tie together."

He cringed and nodded.

"Now you're a bit more resilient. Hopefully it'll stay that way." She smiled, this time truthfully. "Esme should be here in about twenty seconds."

"So our participation in the discussion is inevitable?" Jasper asked with a small sigh. Alice shook her head, so he carefully leaned over to kiss a tender spot behind her ear. As he managed to send waves of desire her way, he suggestively whispered, "Are you certain it really can't be avoided?"

Yet Alice stood up. Her face was once again twisted into a grimace; this one a mixture of obvious desire and a resolution. "Let's not procrastinate. The faster we get there, the faster we come back."

Jasper pressed his face against her collar and nodded resolutely, yet still waited until Esme had knocked carefully on their doorframe. Then, he stood and took Alice's offered hand, then followed the motherly brunette downstairs.

Four pair of eyes turned their way when they entered. Esme went to sit at Carlisle's side, leaving only one chair vacant. Jasper was about to stay back in a pitiful attempt to smother in the shadows when Alice sauntered forward. After shooting him a flirtatious grin, she flopped down in front of Carlisle and Esme, leaning against the couch for support. Jasper reluctantly took the remaining chair and glared at the burgundy carpet, refusing to even glance at Edward.

"Alright," Carlisle coolly started. "How about we backpedal a bit and start from the very beginning?"

Edward broke in before anyone could say anything. "It was the only thing I could do! I had no choice at all at that point!"

"No choice?" Rosalie interrupted, angrily motioning with her perfectly manicured fingers. "You had the choice! You just chose the irresponsible one!"

Carlisle sighed dejectedly. "Didn't I say we had to start from the very beginning?"

Esme then said, "How about we take someone a bit less biased than Rosalie or Edward to explain the details?" As she spoke, she reached over and pressed a hand on Alice's shoulder, smiling weakly.

The choice seemed to pass well through the family, yet now Jasper's head had snapped up. He could feel the intensity at which both Edward and Rosalie glared at his lover, and it pained him to feel her fear. Briefly, he shot her a wave of courage.

Alice's musical voice rang out not too long after. "To make a long story short; we were in the parking lot when Tyler lost control of his vehicle. It veered towards the new girl, Isabella Swan; the same girl that Edward's been interested in over the last few weeks. Everyone's eyes obviously were on the incident. Then, Edward just jumped over, stopped the van, and saved Bella's life."

"Everyone saw him jump!" Rosalie snapped.

"They were too focussed on the van to notice me!" Edward retorted.

Rosalie began to stand, yet Emmett drew her back down on the couch. "And yet tonight, when they'll be calm and collected, they'll all realize that Edward Cullen had been standing way too far to be able to make it over there without having some freakishly awesome super powers!" Her eyes flashed dangerously as she spoke, her beautiful face contorted in a snarl.

"I had no choice. If I would've been in the presence of her blood, then the consequences would've been different." Edward looked away, somewhat ashamed of his weakness. Yet his eyes remained firm, his decision unchanging.

"Trading her blood for our safety," she taunted again. "I don't see why you just move out with her already? Or maybe we should just kill her ourselves and rid us the trouble of having to struggle through this?"

"That's it." Edward's tone was low, menacing. He stood up fluidly and took a rapid step towards the blonde woman. His clear intentions made Emmett jump up to protect Rosalie, just as Carlisle and Alice grabbed his arms to prevent him from going further.

Carlisle moved so that he could look at Edward in the eyes. "I understand your point, Edward." Then he turned to Rosalie. "Just as I understand yours, Rosalie. But you both need to ease on the insults. We are a family, and we're in this together. Edward made his decisions, and I will support him no matter what. As should you all."

Then, out of the corner of the room, Jasper's voice rang out, his voice low with anger. "So you're on his side, Carlisle?"

Everyone turned to face him, surprised that he would speak. He looked up, his eyes blazing angrily, the pale scars menacing. "You don't mind that he potentially wrecked everything? Now we may have to move out, we may loose everything we've accomplished so far. Forks was the perfect town for us, and now we may have to move away. His little tricks may also be spread world wide; where would we establish ourselves then?"

"Jasper!" Alice hissed, and the focus switched from him to her in a second. "How could you say that!" She then stopped, a sudden wave of pain crossing her face.

Edward, though, read her mind easily. Unfortunately, his anger rid him of his usual restraint; he snickered and turned to face his brother as he spat out angrily, "You hypocrite! Thank God we don't mention that little speech every time your frail resistance breaks and you kill humans to satisfy your thirst! We'd have a conversation like this one almost every month, wouldn't we?!"

Jasper's face turned furious. He stomped up from his chair, blocking out Alice's and Esme's instant concern, and began to cross the distance between them. His steps made next to no noise on the carpet, yet he took them slowly and deliberately. He'd forever be the proud soldier who would stand up to what he believed in.

Carlisle had to step back. His voice was flat and dead as he said, "Let me remind you all of the terms of this discussion. If it gets physical, everyone but Esme and I are out of the house for the night."

Emmett changed the conversation to his initial concern as Jasper stopped. "And now we need to move."

"No we don't." Carlisle slowly shook his head. "I agree with Edward. Unless Isabella tells someone–"

"Which will surely happen," Rosalie glowered.

"–we will be safe to stay. I doubt anyone would believe her; she hit her head, she was confused and scared." The blond man faced Edward. "If anyone does ask, you can make up some excuse. The most probable is that you had an adrenaline rush. Humans have reportedly lifted cars or carried fifty pounds of water buckets all at once when under a critical situation. You just did the same."

"Carlisle," Emmett clarified coldly, "Edward still had to make it across an entire parking lot. In under a half second."

Silence then filled the room at Emmett's comment. Jasper was still standing, as was Edward, and they both glared heatedly at each other. Emmett tightened his hold around Rosalie's shoulder, who was now pouting bitterly.

Alice was the one who broke it. "I agree with Edward and Carlisle. We can't move. Can you all imagine the ruckus that would cause if we were to just pack up and vanish as of tomorrow? Then people would really get curious. They'd remember unwanted details, and then it would trash our reputation. If we just keep going on as though nothing happened, people are more likely to forget it."

It made sense; Rosalie hated it. She glared venomously at her sister. "Shut up, Alice."

She blinked innocently in her general direction. She didn't speak as her eyes suddenly lost focus and she stiffened lightly.

Esme then spoke up, voicing her opinion for the very first time. Her voice came out softly. "Why are we fighting? Aren't we supposed to be a family?" She shot Edward a smile. "In my opinion, what's past is past. Instead of arguing over it, we should focus on the future and hope. Our endless bickering won't make any difference in the situation."

Jasper's voice snapped out uncharacteristically before anyone could share her mood. "We'll forget about it as soon as Edward steps off his high horses and apologizes."

Glowering, Edward hissed dangerously, "I have nothing to apologize about. I like her, I prevented her death. Had Alice been in the same situation, you wouldn't have hesitated to save her life." His eyes blazed towards the black-haired girl. "Or would you have let her die? Judging from the words coming out of your mouth tonight, you're cruel enough to do so!"

That had definitely been the wrong chord to play with. Snarling dangerously, Jasper took a few more steps towards Edward, yet the woman he was attempting to protect was now standing between them, as though she had been expecting this. Hurriedly, she clung to Jasper's arm, then at Edward's.

"Stop it. Both of you." Her eyes flashed desperately. "This definitely isn't worth getting us all kicked out. We'd figure that, after almost a hundred years, you both would've learnt how to behave properly." She then whirled around to face Esme and Carlisle. "May Jasper and I be excused? We've both made our point, and nothing good will come out of neither of us tonight if we stay."

Esme gave a weak, tired smile, and Carlisle nodded.

After a steely glance around the room, Alice reached up to press her hand on his chest peacefully. Jasper also gave the room a sweep of his eyes, though his was slightly more animated than hers. Then, after an insistent tug on his sweater, he followed the younger vampire out of the room.

She silently made her way to their bedroom, always making sure he really was following her. The conversation downstairs seemed to have reheated after a comment from Rosalie, and Alice was more than glad when she closed the door of their room.

Without even looking at Jasper, Alice crossed their bedroom and slipped out of her clothes silently. Rapidly, she took out a short pink nightgown and slipped it on, then glided to the large vanity she possessed. Leaning down, she took a brush and carefully ran it through her hair a few times, still silently, and then turned expectantly towards Jasper. A soft smile made its way onto her face as she noticed that he had done exactly the same as she had done; he had gotten ready to go to bed. No one in their family actually slept, yet they all succumbed to a relaxing night snuggled in bed or on a comfortable couch in pajamas every once in a while. Alice definitely understood why humans loved to sleep; it was more therapeutic than anything else she could imagine.

Jasper was now lying on his back on top of the icy blue covers. He was only wearing knee-length black shorts, and Alice briefly took in the large amount of scars covering his body. Her eyes briefly trailed over his legs, then focussed on his well-built chest. She felt herself weakening at the sight and instantly crossed the distance, slipping under the covers and crawling to his side.

He spoke before she could do anything. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't go cave Edward's face in right now."

For a few seconds, Alice pretended to be lost in thought. Then, she smiled and leaned down, pressing her lithe body against him. Her head carefully rested on his chest as her hand lightly rubbed his rib cage.

He sighed. "That works I guess."

They remained together for a few seconds, the glow of the bedside table their only light in the dark room. It was only then that Jasper detected the small amount of unease tucked away in his lover's emotions. Opening his eyes, he looked down at her and whispered calmly, "What's bothering you?"

"I don't like it when they fight," she whispered softly. "I don't like having to participate in those fights. I don't like taking sides. I don't like not being on the same side as you are."

It was the first time that Jasper realized that they had in fact been of different opinions. Still stubborn over the subject, he mumbled, "I really do think that Edward was wrong."

"And I do think that Edward was right," she replied gently, reaching up to trace a pattern only she knew of on his chest.

He found himself smiling as she carelessly shot her a glance. "Okay, then."

Alice also broke into a smile. "Was that supposed to be our 'heated argument'?"

"Mmhmm," he nodded, closing his eyes again.

This time, she laughed. The crystalline sound reverberated in the room as Jasper drew in her exquisite feelings. His golden eyes shone as he reached over to slip his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. Then, in one reach, he shut the light, basking them in the enveloping darkness.

Alice gently rested her hand on the side of his face as she settled for the night. As she replayed their conversation in her mind, she gently asked, "Don't you wish that they'd fight the way we do?"

He smiled. "Definitely."

A/N: Hi everyone!

It's a bit longer, I know. The ending was a bit abrupt as well, but whatever. By the way, this was the very first AliceJasper fic I wrote... XP I hadn't even started New Moon yet. Hope it doesn't show that much.

Thanks for the read! :) Also, thanks to those who reviewed. I know I don't reply to the shorter ones, but I promise you that I read (and smile to) every one of them! Thanks soo much!

Take care!