Ok, first, a huuuuge thank you to those of you who reviewed! They are wonderful to read and I love hearing what y'all think about the story! Speaking of which, anyone else glad Olivia is gone? Yeah, me too. Once again, don't own Twilight. Read & Review if you are so inclined, loves :)

Chapter 15: Uncle Jazzy

"So she's gone?" Renesmee asked, looking at her parents as her family gathered in the remains of their living room. Bella and Edward sat on either side of their daughter, with Bella's arm around her and Edward holding her hand. Jacob had understandingly gone to stand near by to give the three of them space. Though not too much.

"Yes," Bella assured her, kissing her head. "She's gone for good this time."

"I personally watched your dad rip her head off and set the chick on fire, Ness. She ain't coming back," Paul smirked, for the first time in his life feeling like he might be able to be friends with this guy. Maybe.

Jacob smiled and shook his head at his brother-in-law's bluntness. God help his sister. Trying to raise children with this character was not going to be easy.

Renesmee turned to look at her father, her eyes wide with horror. "You," she choked, "you took her on? By yourself? Dad, what if..."

"Hush Swetheart," Edward soothed, mentally noting to kick Paul's butt later for scaring her. "I wasn't alone. I had your mom, Paul, and Seth with me. I was perfectly safe. Once she knew she was out-numbered, she didn't put up much of a fight." He chose not to mention Olivia's crazed laughter or the Volturi's intricate plan that stretched all the way back to Alex, and he didn't know where it would stop. But he would protect her no matter what came their way that much was certain.

Renesmee just nodded, because she didn't know what else to do. She couldn't think of a single thing to say. Olivia was gone. Forever. She could never hurt her or those she loved ever again. Then she looked around the room at the faces of some of those people. Emmett with his good arm around Rosalie. Jacob, Seth, and Paul looking like the Quileute warriors they were, standing with their huge arms across their broad chests. Esme and Carlisle stood hand in hand to her right. Bella and Edward sat beside her, staring at her with so much love in their eyes it was almost painful to see. And Alice... wait, where was Alice? And where was Jasper? "What's wrong, Sweetie?" Bella asked her, seeing the frown on her daughter's face.

Renesmee placed her hand against her mother's cheek and showed her, and Edward who was still holding her hand, that Alice and Jasper were gone. She also accidentally let them see her memory of her aunt and uncle leaving just after she was born before the Volturi came, and with it came the panic and pain she had felt when she thought her beloved Auntie and Uncle Jazz had abandoned her. "Renesmee, they'd never do that to you," Bella assured her.

"I know that now, Mom," Renesmee said. "Grandpa, do you know where Auntie Alice and Uncle Jasper are?"

"Alice is outside," Carlisle's calming voice said. "I believe Jasper left to have some time to himself."

A few moments later, Renesmee sat down in the grass beside her aunt. They faced the trees, Alice watching and waiting for her husband to return. She felt horrible. What good as a physic was she if she couldn't even help the man she loved most with her visions? Because they hadn't been Jasper's decisions, she had been short-sighted, only seeing things mere seconds before they happened. She hadn't been able to stop Jasper from hurting their family. She had been forced to watch her sweet husband be tortured by Olivia Volturi, and there hadn't been a thing she could do about it. Renesmee's voice snapped her out of her reverie. "Auntie?"

Alice turned her head and managed to smile at her niece. "Hey Renesmee," she said, her voice strained with worry.

"Did you hear that Mom and Dad are back?"

"I saw it," Alice sighed. "And I saw Edward kill Olivia. I'm so glad she's gone."

"You and me both," Renesmee agreed whole heartedly. Then she looked out toward the trees. "So Uncle Jazz left?"

"For a while," Alice was quick to say. She couldn't imagine Jasper leaving forever. They'd have to put her back in the asylum if he ever did. "He needed some time alone to think. To sort out his own emotions."

"Was he really upset when he found out?" Renesmee asked quietly.

"Yeah, I think he was," Alice said.

Renesmee frowned. Jasper was always much too hard on himself. There was no telling how long her uncle would be gone, no doubt feeling as though he was not good enough to come back home. Someone would have to go after him and convince him otherwise.

"Go," Alice said suddenly as she came out of a vision. A smile was on her face.

"What?" Renesmee asked. What did her aunt mean, 'go'?

"Go find him," Alice said, jumping up to her feet and pulling her niece up with her. "He'll listen to you. He'll come back."

Renesmee smiled. "Do you know where he is?"

"By the stream," Alice said, which was simple enough. There was really only one stream that ran through the woods in Forks. Renesmee nodded and took off running through the trees.

Coming upon the stream, she saw her uncle sitting beside it, his head in his hands with his fingers tangled in his golden locks. Jasper's head snapped up when he heard his niece approach him. "Hi," she said weakly. Although Alice had assured her that Jasper would listen to her and not send her away, Renesmee knew her aunt's visions could change. Would he be angry with her for coming? Would her presence just make him more upset?

Jasper winced. "Don't worry 'bout me, Renesmee. Please," he groaned.

"It's hard not to when you're so sad," she said walking over to sit beside him. Jasper shook his head. "What?" she asked.

"You," he muttered. "Renesmee, you saw what I did. To Jacob, to Emmett, to your father. I attacked you, and yet you sit beside me as though nothing has happened. As if I'm not the monster I showed myself to be today. You should be afraid of me. Not worrying about my feelings."

"I've always been worried about your feelings, Uncle Jazz," she reminded him gently. She touched his face lightly, drawing him into her memory. This time, Renesmee was about two, and she was looking at him from across the room. He stood in stony silence, watching the rest of the family spoil her and shower her with attention. She wondered why her Uncle Jazzy never played with her like everyone else did. She loved him with all her heart, but she worried that he did not love her back.

Jasper pulled her hand away. That memory was too painful. He hadn't spent much time with her when she was younger because she smelled too human. Her scent was almost as intoxicating as Bella's had been, though it was dulled some by the vampire genes in her DNA. He was afraid though, that he would lose control if he got too close to her. Like he had today.

Renesmee frowned. "I'm not done," she pouted, pulling his face back towards her, and drawing him into her world once again. Now, she looked seven years old. By this time, Jasper had allowed himself to get close to her. He occasionally even babysat her when everyone else was otherwise occupied. That's what had happened on the day of this particular memory. Alice and Rosalie had dragged Bella to the mall, Carlisle was at the hospital, Edward and Emmett were taking their turn to go hunting, Esme had gone shopping with her daughters, and Jacob was out doing something with the pack. It was just Jasper and Renesmee alone in the house. They sat on the couch together, Jasper's feet propped on the coffee table next to the pizza he had made for Renesmee's dinner. With a glass of milk of course. No one could claim he hadn't fed her a healthy meal. A Civil War movie was on TV. There were few Civil War movies that Jasper would actually watch. Most were horribly inaccurate, and they portrayed the Confederates as ignorant, power-hungry, racists. Jasper took offense to that. He had hardly known anyone who fit that description. Most of his comrades had been ordinary men with a lot of pride and an independent streak as wide as the Mississippi River. They had merely been sticking up for their rights when the Northern states had...

"Uncle Jazzy?" His niece's voice had pulled him from his bitter thoughts and he turned to look at her. She had her eyes glued to the screen. Jasper inwardly cringed. He hadn't thought she was paying attention. Bella was going to kill him.

"Yes, Darlin'?" he asked, grabbing the remote and quickly shutting off the TV. Renesmee looked up at him. He felt the curiosity rolling off her small body. Uh oh. Not only was Bella going to kill him for introducing her seven year old daughter to the horrors of the Civil War, Edward was going to help her.

"Was that the war you fought in?" she asked.

Jasper gasped. How did she know? And what did he do now? Did he tell her the truth? Did he lie and say no? He sighed and shook his head. Renesmee was a clever, intelligent child. She deserved an honest answer. That, and she'd be able to tell if he lied to her. "Yes. It was."

"Uncle Emmy says you fought for Johnny Rebs. Who was he? Was Mr. Rebs your boss?" she asked him.

Ah! He should've guessed this all led back to Emmett. At least now he knew it wouldn't be him Bella and Edward came after. "No, Darlin'," he chuckled softly. "My boss was General Lee. 'Johnny Rebs' was what the Yanks called us."

"Is Uncle Emmy a Yank?" she asked innocently looking up at him.

Jasper smiled his crooked smile. "Yes, he is."

Then, Renesmee did something that Jasper never would've expected. She took his hand and pushed up the sleeve of the shirt he was wearing, exposing the many silvery half-moon shaped scars that covered his forearm. He waited for her to shriek. To cry. To run away from him in sheer terror. To feel the fear she felt in her heart when she saw them. Instead though, Renesmee took her finger and traced the scars gently. "Is that where you got these? In the war?" she asked softly.

Jasper choked on the concern she felt for him. "Yes," he whispered hoarsely.

"They look like Mommy's. Do they hurt?" she asked again. Jasper gazed at her in disbelief. She was genuinely worried about him. She wasn't scared at all. The only thing she felt was sadness at the possibility that someone had hurt her Uncle Jazzy.

"No Darlin," he whispered. "They don't hurt anymore."

"But they did," she frowned.

"Hey," he said, placing his finger beneath her chin and bringing her gaze up to meet his. "I don't want you to worry 'bout me, alright?"

Renesmee looked up at him with such love and wisdom in her eyes that it shook Jasper deeply. With more seriousness than a normal seven year old could muster, she said, "But Uncle Jazzy, you worry about everyone. You always make us happy when we're sad, but there's no one to make you happy."

"Yes there is," Jasper said, pulling her onto his lap and cradling her in his arms. "You make me happy Renesmee. Whenever I see you, you make me smile."

"Good," Renesmee smiled, taking his scarred hand and kissing it. "I love you, Uncle Jasper."

Jasper smiled. The emotion of pure and innocent love of the child in his lap was one of the most wonderful things he'd ever felt in his entire existence. "Oh Darlin'," he sighed, kissing her head, not even noticing the faint burning in his throat, "I love you too. Very very much."

Renesmee pulled her hand away from Jasper's face. "I'm the one who makes you happy, Uncle Jazz," she reminded him with a smile. "And you make me happy. You are the best uncle any girl could ever ask for. What happened today was not your fault. Everyone knows that. Especially me. She took control of me too, Jasper. She got in my head, and I couldn't move or think. That's why I stayed earlier, so I could explain to everyone what was happening to you," she sighed. She took her uncle's hand in hers. "I'm not mad at you for what happened because it was not your fault. And I will never ever be afraid of you."

Jasper looked at her and gave her a small smile. Her kindness overwhelmed him. And his hatred for Olivia grew. "You are scared of Olivia though, aren't you?"

"I was," she nodded. "But not anymore. Paul and Seth caught her scent, and Mom and Dad followed them. Dad killed Olivia like he did Victoria. She's gone, Uncle Jazz."

"Gone?" he breathed, unable to quite believe it.

Renesmee nodded. "Please come home, Uncle Jasper. No one blames you, and no one is disappointed in you. They're worried about you. We all love you so much." She stood and held her hand out to him. "Will you come back with me?"

Jasper smiled, a lump in his throat, eyes burning with unshed tears as he took her hand. "Thank you, Renesmee."

"You're welcome, Uncle Jazzy."