AN/ I own nothing of Twilight, just my little plot line, and any changes to recognizable canon, and non-canon characters. I do not get nor do I seek any recompense for this work. I thank S Meyer for her benevolent generosity to her fandom in allowing us latitude to play with her universe.

** Summary: Alice's visions of Jasper ended not long before the meeting in the Philly diner. What happens when Jasper eventually meets the Cullens? What actually happened to change his destiny? Some non-canon couples, OOC behavior. Jasper/Bella pairing. **

Previously in Duty and Honor:

'Tell me when then, Major. All the important decisions are on you to avoid the psychic.' I think to my alterego.

"Turn back now, boy. By the time we're back to that house, all of them should be home."

Obedient to my inner prompting, I turn my feet back toward Forks.

I slow my feet as I approach the sprawling mansion the Cullen Coven maintain. After leaving the outskirts of Seattle, I had firmed my plans with my other personalities. The Major would work at helping me control my craziness and making the decisions concerning my mission. My job was to just be me, hopefully without quite so much of my usual insanity. Even decades after my escape from Maria, the mental scars are still scabbed and oozing from my time with her and the wars. My time among the Volturi has helped, yet there was decades of horror to heal and our kind change so slowly. I might never find true healing. Still, my damages were what made this assignment possible, so I guess there truly is a silver lining for everything.

After some thought, I had decided to use the outer edge of the sprawling gardens as my "boundary". This would allow me to avoid lingering somewhere waiting for a coven member to find me, allow us to comfortably converse, and provide the space necessary to avoid crowding them. With my scars, this was an absolute must. Accordingly, I stop as I penetrate the bushes lining the estate. I place my hands loosely behind my back, my feet a shoulder-width apart. I am relaxed but not subservient. I neither lower my head nor bare my neck. With my scarring either action could be misconstrued as an attempt at subterfuge or deception. I wait.

On the wide porch of the sprawling mansion, stand 6 vampires. Appropriately, the Coven Leader stands at the center, his emotions are curiosity and wariness, but no fear. Behind his left shoulder stands his mate, her emotions are also curiosity, caution, and oddly enough, pity. On the left hand, stands a large male, arms crossed, and his protectiveness is like a veil over his face, anticipation at the forefront. He is serious, but also unafraid. Behind his left shoulder, one hand on his shoulder and the other gripping his massive bicep stands a striking blonde female. Her primary emotions are fear and anger. The anger feels like a constant thing, rarely even acknowledged in her mind, a habit of thought rather than a constant state of passion. To the right of the leader stands a red headed male, his eyes intent with concentration, his emotive grid mainly concern with flashes of alarm. Confidence or arrogance is the bedrock emotion. And finally, to the far right stands, or rather bounces, a short black-haired female. I picked up joy, excitement, puzzlement, and a touch of deception. She is practically vibrating in place with the force of her emotions.

As the visitor, vampire propriety dictates I speak first. "Hello, I am Jasper."

It is a very rare thing for me to actually have to introduce myself, especially to an unknown coven. Unbidden and unexpected, I am briefly hit with a memory, flashing to an incident where I was sent by Maria to an encampment as a decoy. Shoving the unpleasant memory away, I scan the Cullens again, noticing the red head flinch.

"Hello. I am Carlisle Cullen." He waved a hand indicating the rest with him. "This is my family and this is our area. I must ask what your intentions are here."

I cocked my head slightly. "I was looking for you, actually. I had heard tales of the Stregoni Benefici and his diet, and it made me curious." I shifted on my feet, showing uncertainty. "I wanted to try it; have been trying it."

The resulting smile and reply mystifies me.

"Come in and let us get to know each other."

AN/ Stopped it here as the resulting chapter was way too long if I continued and posting now as the rewrite after an accidental delete is taking too long. (Not writing on-site anymore! Dang thing logged me out and when I hit save, well let's just say watching that whole chapter go poof was heartbreaking!)