Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns the Twilight universe.

5 - Jasper

The woods had grown since the last time they lived in Forks. The canopy was more dense, the trees inundated with green moss and twisting vines.

Carlisle let his fingers trail across the damp foliage as he picked a path through the undergrowth. Esme was a dozen steps away, her stride slow to match his meandering.

"It's different, isn't it?" she asked as she bent to finger gently reaching lilies.

"A bit. It's nice to be in a small town again."

She looked up from her flowers and offered him a sweet smile. "It is."

Carlisle braced his hand against a huge tree and glanced around. He neither particularly liked or disliked Forks. It served its purpose better than many places. The sheer number of overcast days made it an ideal place for the family to live. The proximity to the Quiluete reservation made it less than ideal.

Carlisle's eyes flitted from tree to tree as he looked for something familiar. "Do you think it's even still here?"

Esme shrugged as she scanned the trees, her hand automatically reaching up to tuck errant strands of hair back into her slipping clips. "We must be close. It feels like the right distance."

He pushed away from the tree and moved forward, his eyes still carefully searching. He heard Esme moving again too, her steps light and careful as she moved from tree to tree. "Found it!" she called.

Carlisle turned automatically, his grin growing as he moved in the direction from which her voice had called. She was leaning against a huge, moss-covered boulder, her smile pleased as she waited for him.

Their little alcove had changed, too. It had been their little secret retreat once, a tiny little nest that they had claimed as their own. The giant twisting tree roots were cradling the boulder, every inch of brown bark covered by the persistent moss. The tree was leaning under the strain of its own weight, held up only by the sturdy roots. Where it leaned, the roots had bowed up, making a tiny, living cave. The twisted roots jutted away from the little cave creating a hundred cradles and seats and benches.

He pushed aside low-hanging vines and examined the little arched grotto. Esme moved over the gnarled roots, easily finding a familiar spot to settle into. "Remember our last night here?"

Carlisle let the vines fall to cover the green hovel and turned to face her with a smile. "Of course."

"Feels like so long ago. It seems like we've always had Jasper and Alice."

He smiled and dropped among the roots, settling next to her and leaning back to breathe in the fresh air. "It does. This will be a good place for Jasper, I think. Easier than a big city."

"I hope." He could hear the concern in those two words. She so worried about their newest son, his constant torment nearly unbearable for her. "He is doing better, though."

Jasper and Alice had been an interesting and welcome addition to their family. They were so different from the other children. They came to them fully formed, their paths entirely independent from Carlisle.

As a couple, they were stunning to watch. They were completely in sync, easily communicating with looks and brief touches. Words were an unneeded and often unused little luxury. Their routine as a couple was set before they joined the family. Together, they created a little world that the rest of them couldn't quite touch. Where Rose and Emmett lived their love story right in the open for anyone to see, Jasper and Alice lived theirs in their own little cocoon, their backs to the world as they found comfort only in each other.

Alice slid neatly into the family. She was already strong and self-assured. Her extraordinary power and decades of abstaining from human blood making her an easy part of their group.

Jasper had a much harder time. He struggled with the diet and the family dynamics and sharing Alice. He had trouble settling into a more civilized environment and living in close proximity to humans.

But he tried. He wanted to do better and again and again, he picked himself up, much to Carlisle's admiration. In recent years, things seemed to be getting a bit easier. It had been a decade since he tasted human blood and though the burn of thirst was still strong, he still persisted, still trusted in better days on the horizon.

"His will is astounding. As long as he has Alice, I believe he will keep trying," Carlisle said to soothe Esme's worry.

She sighed happily and closed her eyes. Her eyelids were paper thin and pale as snow. He watched her as she lounged in the stillness. She seemed so at peace, her body stretched in a bed of soft fern, cradled by the ancient tree. Her face was heartbreaking in its beauty. Her mouth was gently curved in a tiny involuntary smile. Impossibly long eyelashes were inky against her pale skin. Silky hair was slipping again from inadequate clips.

Unable to resist, Carlisle reached out with deft fingers and secured the little clips. She opened her eyes to smile at him, her hand lifting to brush at his hair. Esme threaded her fingers through the thick locks, her hand settling at the back of his head. She tugged lightly and he complied, bowing down to kiss her gently.

Her smile grew as he shifted to hold her, his lips soft against hers, her hands sure at his waist and in his hair. "It's like we never left," Carlisle said softly.

She laughed. "That's what I was thinking."

He kissed her again, his hand creeping beneath her to splay across her back. "If I'm remembering correctly," he murmured, each word punctuated by feather-light kisses, "the last time we were here, Rosalie interrupted us."

"I'm pretty sure they do it on purpose."

Carlisle grinned. "Only Alice." He kissed her again, the hand on her back pressing tightly as he rolled over.

She smiled as she sat up, her hands braced on his chest, her denim-clad knees pillowed in the fern as she straddled him. "This does seem about right."

"Rose is in town with Alice."

She tilted her head. "Pretty good odds."

He laughed and pulled her down, one hand working its way under her shirt. He let his fingers trail across her smooth back. The other hand settled lightly on her thigh, his long fingers making tiny circles over the rough denim.

She worked her hands between them and slipped the buttons of his shirt free with nimble fingers. She sat up again and he followed her, shedding his shirt and tugging hers off before crashing together again, laughing as their teeth clacked together in their haste.

"Carlisle," a tentative voice called.

Esme froze, her eyes widening. "Jasper?"

"Yeah, sorry. Emmett said the hospital called about a car accident."

Carlisle's brow furrowed as he turned to look in the direction where the voice was coming from. "I'm not on call today."

There was a pause. "Emmett said – " He let out an irritated little groan. "Sorry."

They heard the trees rustle as he darted back toward the house. Esme's still-wide eyes were amused as they met Carlisle's. "I told you they do it on purpose."

He laughed with a shrug, his hand easily unclasping her bra as he moved to pick up where they left off. "At least that's all of them now."

Jasper was seething. And embarrassed. But mostly seething.

Emmett was in for it.

He ran through the woods at top speed, lunging as soon as he saw his laughing brother. Emmett kept laughing as they tumbled to the ground, as they rolled and wrestled. "Was Carlisle not on call?" He was breathless with his mirth "My mistake."

Edward laughed as he moved onto the porch. "Rosalie's not going to be happy."

Emmett pushed away from Jasper, leaping away as he lunged again. "I told her I'd win."

Jasper stopped, glaring at his brothers in annoyance. "You bet about this?"

Edward spread his hands, still laughing lightly. "Not me. I had nothing to do with it."

Jasper turned and slugged Emmett on the shoulder, stone colliding with stone in a huge, crashing boom. Emmett laughed again. "It was a good bet."

Jasper rolled his eyes, his fists still balled, his body ready to crouch and lunge at the slightest provocation. His brothers' amusement was rolling over him, changing his own mood and curling his lips as he found the humor in the situation.

"I'm going to get you back." Jasper jabbed a finger at Emmett. "Just wait."

Emmett laughed again, totally untroubled in the face of the threat. He jogged up onto the porch. "I'm going to change. Let's go hunt."

Edward looked down at his dress slacks. "I should change too." He turned to make sure Emmett was in the house. "Tell Rosalie he lied to get you to find them." His voice was low, barely more than a whisper. "When they bet, she said he couldn't interfere."

Thanks, Jasper thought.

Edward grinned and ran into the house. Jasper settled onto the porch steps, his smile still stretched across his face. His eyes rolled again as the amusement washed over him once more.

What would Maria think of him now? What would she make of this laughing man? What would she think of his power being used, not to sway battles, but to smooth over delicate family situations? What would she think of his overwhelming love for his wife, of his joy in his family? What would she think of his ongoing torture and tremendous progress?

Jasper's lips curved again as he imagined her reaction, her disappointment, maybe even her anger. It delighted him.

He had often thought about the differences between Maria and Carlisle. As the only two leaders he had known in this life, he found himself comparing them, mulling over their strengths and weaknesses in his analytical mind.

Aside from his amazing self-control and selfless nature, Carlisle, quite simply, had Esme. Maria never had someone like that, someone that would be on her side without question, without faltering. She lived for herself and Jasper could see now, with the clarity of distance, that it was her biggest weakness.

Jasper had stopped before he got close enough to catch more than a glimpse of Esme and Carlisle in the woods, but he could feel their emotions strongly. Love and lust were warring with utter devotion and tender care. Their emotions were totally intertwined, making it impossible to tell easily if there was one person generating them, or two.

As embarrassing as it was to have to interrupt them, Jasper found their emotions enlightening.

Maria would think of that kind of connection only as a weakness. Jasper knew better. Carlisle was a better leader than Maria and his connection with Esme, in every way possible, was an overwhelming strength.

In a battle, he knew that the tide could be turned by the extra need, the extra want that made one side fight just a little more fiercely, a little more desperately. He thought of Alice. He would fight for her a thousand times more fiercely than he would fight for himself. He would find reserves of strength and would never, ever stop. For that reason, Carlisle was a stronger leader. He had Esme just as Jasper had Alice.

And it wasn't just Esme. Carlisle had his beloved children and they all had each other. As annoyed with him as he might often be, Jasper would defend Emmett without question. He would stand with him as a brother and friend.

He blinked his golden eyes and squinted at the woods. Maria simply had everything wrong. In so many ways, the seven members of their little family were a better army than she could ever hope to create. Bonded through love and devotion, they were an unstoppable force.

Jasper was once proud to be called soldier. He had been proud to be called Major.

In ways that the soldier he had been could never imagine, he was much more proud of his new titles, titles that meant something on and off the field of battle, titles that made him stronger and happier.

He was proud to be called brother.

He was proud to be called husband.

And, perhaps most improbable to that soldier he'd been, he was proud to be called son.

Note: You know, I've written 23,000 words on Alice and Jasper in my other fic and yet their chapters for this story were the hardest for me to write. Weird.

Thanks for all the reviews and faves and PMs and alerts. Thanks also to whoever is reccing this. I can always tell when it has been linked. There will be no new alerts added for days and then twelve in an hour. I'm glad you guys are enjoying it.

To everyone who asked if I will do a Renesmee chapter: I can't. The fact is, she sees them only as her grandparents and I can't think of a way to write her interrupting them in a way that won't really creep me out. If I can ever think of one, I'll write it as a separate one-shot, but I wouldn't count on it.

The Bella chapter will be up next week.

Please review!

- Brynna