:-Meanwhile-:

:-Narrator-:

Author's Note: This one is short, I know, but the next one will be longer! This one is just kinda interesting, some fluff, how Jasper would feel if Alice were dead…please read and review!

He was still standing there when they finally came to find him. His mind whirled, doing thousands of calculations, trying to figure out where he went wrong, how come he hadn't been able to protect her, why did it even have to be her? Jasper Hale stood motionless over Leah Clearwater's equally still form, his thoughts in turmoil.

"Jasper? Jasper, you okay?" the soft voice of his "mother", Esme, echoed through the woods.

Am I okay, he thought shortly. I will never be okay again. She's gone, she's not coming back and I might as well accept that. If I'd been only a little quicker or maybe a little smarter, she'd be here and not…and not... He found he couldn't finish his thought. He wouldn't let himself dwell on the thoughts that threatened to overwhelm him-he still had a job and a duty to do, to do for his family. Slowly, very slowly, he turned to face those who had come up behind him.

Esme stood at the front of the small group, her eyes filled with sorrow. Behind her stood Tanya and Benjamin, both of them looking as forlorn and distressed as Jasper felt. Almost unconsciously, he felt the mood around all of them and was pleased that it reflected the pain all of them were feeling. Then he noticed the phased werewolves beside Esme. Sam and Quil stood there, in their human forms, flanked by two younger looking wolves. Jasper didn't care that all the other wolves might have been killed, all that mattered to him was that she was gone.

"How's Leah?" Esme asked. Her voice was cracked and broken; she was obviously heartbroken over the death of Carlisle. And why shouldn't she be? Carlisle had been her husband, her love, her life.

"Who cares? She's going to be fine. Unlike others…" Jasper growled. He hated being so uncaring, unfeeling, but he couldn't bring himself to show compassion for anyone right now.

"Jasper! That was uncalled for." Esme scolded lightly. She knew he didn't mean it, just as he knew he didn't mean it. Sam had moved forward to bend over Leah; he was poking and prodding her in the side.

"What? Esme, think about it. How can we worry about one who's going to be fine when we have lost so many? Carlisle…Esme, Carlisle is our father! He created us and now he's gone! Rosalie…Esme, that pain in the neck is never going to annoy us again! And…and…" he couldn't bring himself to finish his thought.

"I know, Jasper, I know. But…your facts are a little outdated." Esme's face had clenched up in pain at the mention of Carlisle, but now a slight smile graced her lips.

"What?" Jasper said again. Sam had moved off into the bushes for a moment and now he came back, fully wolf and able to hear Leah's thoughts as she began to come around.

"The Volturi overlooked one of ours when they were burning as they ran. Jasper…Rosalie's alive." Esme beamed.