"Alice, what's wrong?" Esme asked after she had parked the car in the parking lot of the supermarket and glanced at her petite daughter sitting next to her in the passenger seat. Alice had seemed so down and sad during the drive. She was such a bubbly little thing, always blabbing away and finding joy in everything - but on this drive she had barely spoken a word, and that unnerved Esme.

Alice glanced at her, but instead of saying something, she just sighed sadly and hung her head.

"Did you have a bad vision?" Rose asked from the back seat, taking a guess at what might have caused her sister to be so withdrawn. While she already had an idea what might have caused her sister to be so unusually quiet, she wasn't entirely sure if she was right and so she decided against voicing what she assumed was the real problem.

"No," Alice replied in a soft voice, shaking her head.

It was like she would prefer a vision with a negative outcome over what was currently troubling her.

"Then what is it, dear? What is wrong?" Esme couldn't help but ask – she didn't want to see any of her children so unhappy, especially when she might be able to change something about that.

Another sigh escaped Alice's lips, but then she finally lifted her head again and looked at her concerned mother.

"It's just … I'm a little sad," Alice admitted, her voice no more than a whisper, as though saying it out loud would be like giving up. She didn't want to give up, she really wanted Jasper to stop being inside all day and actually enjoy life just like they were doing.

Esme reached up and started stroking Alice's hair in a comforting manner. "And what makes you sad? Maybe we can help, sweetheart."

She really hoped Alice would tell them what was bothering her, because she was determined to do her best to help her little girl to forget about it and be happy again. She was her mother – there was nothing she couldn't do.

"I feel like Jasper is missing out on so much."

Uh, well, except that. But as Esme opened her mouth to say something, Rosalie beat her to it.

"Because he doesn't go to school with us anymore? He isn't missing out on much," Rose told her, snorting. The thought alone was ridiculous – there's nothing more to be said.

Alice turned around to look at her. "It's not just school … it's everything. Shopping and dancing and just going out in general."

"Oh Alice, sweetheart, he's ready when he's ready. You cannot rush it," Esme said, making Alice turn back around, eyes widened in disbelief.

"But that's the problem, Mom, he is ready! I know that he is, but he won't believe me!" she argued, her lips forming an adorable pout. She just couldn't believe that she hadn't succeeded in making Jasper come with her, or at least promise her to join her this weekend. It really made her a little grumpy - she usually wasn't one who failed when she wanted something. Hm, maybe she hadn't tried hard enough ...

"Sweetheart," Esme said and took her daughter's hands within her own. "Give him time to gain more confidence when it comes to his self-control. I know that you believe in him and I'm sure he knows that, too, but as long as he is feeling nervous and unsure about going out and being around humans, he will have a hard time. That is unnecessary stress for him."

"But I'm not the only one who thinks he is ready," Alice stated firmly, knowing that Emmett would more than likely agree with her. For the last months he had been trying to coax Jasper out of the house to go to the movies with him, or at least to go tooling around, but Jasper had always refused. And Rose had also told her that she thought Jasper grounding himself wasn't helping him or anyone else for that matter.

"Yes, but if you force him, we'll just have another moody Edward in tow. One is already more than enough," Rose threw in, making Esme turn around to give her a stern look.

"Rosalie, stop that."

Unfortunately that rebuke only served to make Rose roll her eyes while she rummaged through her bag in search of something.

"And what do you think, Mom?" Alice suddenly asked. She sounded curious as she really wanted to know what Esme thought about Jasper's self-control – and she wanted to make sure her sister and mother wouldn't start arguing about Edward. This talk was about her Jasper, no one else!

"While I would love to see him engage in outdoor activities with everyone again, I don't want to stress him. This is first and foremost his own personal battle, and he has his own pace of gaining more confidence and feeling comfortable enough that he can be around humans."

"And what does Dad think?" Alice asked quickly, deeming her mother's answer to be a bit unsatisfactory. She had expected Esme to back her up, not tell her to be patient like everyone else was.

"Alice, dear, it doesn't matter what anyone thinks about it, this is Jasper's decision."

"But it would boost his confidence if everyone just told him more often that we think it's time for him to leave the house again because he's ready!"

Esme sighed and shook her head, a sad look in her eyes. She knew that Alice was clutching at straws, but there was no way she could lie to her and tell her it would be okay to pester Jasper. "Or maybe he would only feel pressured, and just imagine he would slip again. What happens then? He might feel that his decision to stay home had been justified. It would only make it worse for him, dear."

"Ha, so I'm not allowed to say that Edward's moody, but you can say that Jasper is lacking self-control? Interesting," Rosalie threw in while applying more lipstick.

Esme rubbed a hand over her forehead, hoping it would keep the tiny wave of frustration that she was feeling at bay. "That's not what I said."

"How could he ever feel confident again if he knew that you don't believe in him?" Rose asked casually and smacked her lips together, checking her reflection in the little pocket mirror she was holding in her hand.

"Rosalie, I don't-"

"I'm just messing with you, mother. Can we go shopping now? I'm getting bored." She knew that Jasper could be quite stubborn and refuse to listen to anyone. All of them had tried to convince him to come outside again, but while he had nodded his head and looked like he would consider it, he never did. So what was there to do? Nothing, he just needed to realise that he had to get off his butt and join them. Even if he would lose it - they could stay with him during the first months to make sure they could restrain him in time before anything could happen. Easy. But he needed to make this first step - they couldn't force him.

"Yes, me, too," Alice agreed.

Esme just looked at her, a slight frown of confusion on her face.

"What about Jasper?" she asked, not wanting Alice to think that they weren't taking her worries seriously.

A drawn out sigh fell from Alice's lips, and she glanced at her mother with bright, golden eyes. "There's not much anyone can do," she said, shrugging her shoulders. Then she reached over and opened her door, but Esme placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her before she could climb out.

"Are you all right, love?" She was concerned for her children, always. And she knew how sad it made her petite daughter to not be able to spend as much time as possible with her mate. She had stayed at home with him for a few months, until even Jasper said that it might be better for his little Alice to go back to school. She just had too much energy and needed a variety of entertainment facilities to work it off.

"I am. Jasper needs to believe in himself, and since he already knows what we are thinking, there isn't much we can tell him anymore. I guess I'll just have to wait."

A warm smile appeared on Esme's face and she reached out and cupped Alice's face, stroking her cheek with her thumb. "I think so, too."

"Shopping?" Rose asked impatiently, looking at them with raised eyebrows. The sooner they would get the stupid grocery shopping done, the sooner she could buy new boots.

Emmett and Jasper left the house just in time before Carlisle could enter the room and tell them to do the detested lawn mowing. The window was their emergency exit of choice, and Emmett had been the first to jump out. When it came to chores or the like, he always was the first to bolt.

Jasper quickly picked up a comic book from his desk, rolled it up and put it in the back pocket of his jeans, then followed after his brother.

They ran as fast as they could to make sure Carlisle wouldn't suspect them of fleeing from the yard work. Well, it would definitely work and he would have to do everything himself, but he wouldn't be awfully happy about it. Not that they cared at the moment.

Ten minutes later and they were pretty sure that they were far enough from the house. It was a wonderful, warm summer day, and Emmett stopped and grinned at his brother while taking a step to the side to lean against a tree. He was definitely in a good mood and wanted to celebrate ... or something.

Jasper thanked him for warning him in time, then found himself a tree with a big trunk where he could sit down on the sandy ground and lean with his back against it. He closed his eyes and took a hesitant breath, hoping he wouldn't detect any humans nearby. But the air was fresh and pure, he could smell flowers and tree bark and soil - no temptation anywhere.

"So? What are we gonna do, now that we are free?" Emmett asked and smirked over at him, completely excited about the fact that they had managed to escape.

He really could get excited over the little things in life ...

"I have no idea what you will busy yourself with, but I will read," Jasper replied, fishing the rolled-up comic book from his back pocket and opening it.

Emmett groaned - he just couldn't believe that his brother was being so difficult again! Edward was already being a flake - he didn't need another brother who acted like that and was no fun.

"Let's do something, come on! We're in a forest, there are literally a million things we could do!"

Jasper raised an eyebrow while he glanced at his brother over the top of his book. "Like what?"

A blank look crossed Emmett's face, until he became pensive for a moment. "We could play something," he suggested.

"Do you want me to throw a stick and you'll fetch it? Sure, we can do that, but you have to promise me not to drool all over it."

"Ha ha." Emmett stepped over to Jasper and looked down at what exactly he was reading.

"Rawhide Kid? Hm, actually I'm in the mood for Archie right now."

Emmett loved comics ... school would be so much more fun if the text books were like comic books, for sure.

After a minute of "Wait, I'm not done!" or "Slow down, Jazz," Jasper sighed and handed the book to his brother, so he could finish it. It would keep him busy and Jasper realised that he'd rather be bored than annoyed.

"If you insist," Emmett laughed, snatched the book from his hand and plopped down next to him to read on with a huge, triumphant grin plastered on his face.

He really found joy in the little things ...

When Emmett was done some time later, he closed the comic book and let it drop to the ground right next to him. He sighed, then put his elbows on his knees and looked around, as though he was enjoying the beauty of the forest and the calming effect it had on them.

But little sideways glances made Jasper eventually roll his eyes and ask, "What?"

"Hey … um, you don't have to answer, but … when I came into your room, you seemed really frustrated."

"That wasn't a question, Em."

"I know, I wasn't finished! Well, I mean, … are you and Alice ... well, are you having problems?"

"No," Jasper replied without looking at his brother.

"But she didn't look too happy when I saw her in the foyer."

Jasper groaned internally as he heard that, and he squinched his eyes shut. His head dropped and he swallowed hard, trying to ignore the picture that was forming in his head.

Oh God … thanks, Emmett. Now the guilt was back full force. His poor, little Alice was sad, and he was the reason for it. Hopefully she would still be able to have fun with Rose and Esme, because otherwise he had ruined her entire day.

"I disappointed her, but that happens a lot lately, because she won't take No for an answer."

He must have said the wrong thing, because Emmett suddenly smirked at him like a little, immature boy. He probably thought this was about something kinky or that they were having bedroom problems ...

"What does Alice ask about? Come on, you can tell me, there is nothing my Rosie and I haven't tried already."

Bingo. He thought this was about sex.

Letting out a heavy sigh, Jasper said, "A party."

Emmett drew back a little and frowned. "Like a … swingers party?" he asked, his face scrunching up at the thought.

So he and Rose obviously haven't tried everything yet, ha. "No, dammit Em, not everything revolves around sex. I'm talking about a regular party. For example some party that is supposed to take place this weekend."

And finally realisation shone on Emmett's face. "Oh, the party in the-"

"I don't care where exactly the party is being held, because I'm not going."

"Awww, come on!" Emmett whined and pushed him sideways, away from himself.

Picking himself up from the ground and sitting up again, Jasper wiped his hair out of his face and gave his brother a dark look. "No."

"But … why not? It's gonna be fun!"

Fun? Fun for him because his throat wouldn't burn anymore, or fun for all his victims who's last words would be "No, please don't kill me!"?

"I'm not into silly games, alcoholic beverages and the smell of pot."

"Don't breathe." Emmett shrugged his shoulders.

"How about you go there and tell me how you liked it when you come back home? That way I will feel like I was there with you."

"How so?"

"Because your way of recollecting something is very unique."

That made Emmett smile. He knew he was the best storyteller in the family, because when he told someone about his adventures or experiences it always was so realistic and detailed, that afterwards people felt like they had been there with him. Yup, that's how good he was. It was probably his second gift! But he didn't want to boast about it, as it would make the others jealous and sad that he had more than just one awesome ability. Especially now that he was sitting here with Jasper who was already feeling a little down. And being able to manipulate someone's emotions was also kind of cool – nothing to be ashamed of.

Jasper fed off the joy his brother was currently feeling. Being around Emmett could sometimes be a little trying, but it was mostly like taking a break. He was so good-natured and happy – just like Alice. But since he was constantly managing to dampen his wife's spirits, he had to selfishly use his brother's positive emotions to make himself feel more at ease.

He let it wash over him, and engulf him completely, and then was finally feeling up to doing whatever his brother had in mind.

In the end they just ran around and fought with each other – it helped to stay in shape and also with their reflexes, their speed - and it made it easier for them to let go of any pent-up energy or frustration they might have.

Seeing that they had spent enough time away from home and that Carlisle was more than likely already done with the stupid lawn, they slowly made their way back - still shoving and pushing each other in a playful way, not paying any mind to how loud they might be.

"Hello, boys."

The cheerful voice of their father greeted them as they emerged from the forest and stepped onto their driveway, and it startled them.

"Welcome back," Carlisle added and started to smile when his sons just stared at him. He came down the steps of the front porch and walked toward them in a leisurely pace.

"Something's wrong ... don't you think?" Jasper whispered to his brother, his eyes fixed on Carlisle who's smile got broader the closer he got to them.

"Pfft. It smells like freshly-cut grass - we have nothing to fear," Emmett replied with a snort, one hundred percent sure that they had succeeded in evading the dreaded work.

"It's wonderful to see you both well fed and full of energy," Carlisle remarked, then walked behind his two sons, only to step in between them and put his arms around their shoulders.

Feeling that twisting away or asking him how it went wouldn't really go over too well, they remained silent and let their father guide them behind the garage and into their backyard. Yep, it finally dawned on Emmett that maybe his plan hadn't worked.

"Is something wrong, Carlisle?" Emmett asked, trying to sound completely innocent.

Jasper looked sideways, so neither of them would see him roll his eyes.

Yes, you buffoon, something is wrong! Their father's friendliness was laced with a hint of mischievousness ...

His emotions let Jasper know what was going to happen and at that moment, Carlisle cleared his throat.

"I have something for you, my dear boys," he said just a second before the lawn behind their house came into view. He could feel a little resistance coming from his sons, and so he tightened his grip on their shoulders and added, "work."

"Oh no, no, no ... come on, Pops! You were supposed to take care of that!" Emmett whined, sounding more like a five-year-old than the sturdy man that he was.

"I mowed the lawn, Emmett, and now you two will rake it up," Carlisle told him and patted his shoulder in an encouraging manner.

Emmett stepped away from him, then turned around to face him. "But Pops! That is not fair, come on ... why didn't Eddie rake it up?"

"Edward is busy working on a book report ... and he told me why I had to use the old reel mower. Someone broke the other one ... any ideas who that might have been?" Carlisle asked, crossing his arms over his chest while raising one eyebrow questioningly.

Oh Emmett ... what did you do?

"I was just trying to repair it!" Emmett retorted, trying to explain why the stupid thing was worse than useless now.

"If the blades are blocked, you need to turn it off before you put your hand in it. Humans have lost fingers by doing something like that," Carlisle told him.

"But I'm not human, and I didn't lose any fingers ... I didn't even get hurt."

"But the lawnmower got hurt. Now set to work, you mother will be back shortly," Carlisle said, pushed both of them lightly in the direction of the two rakes leaning against the tree in the middle fo their garden, and vanished into the house.

Jasper turned around to pierce his brother with an intense glare. But all Emmett did was huff about the unfairness of it all.

"We should blame Edward, that rat fink. And he's doing a 'book report' ... he's just trying to skive off work ... he's always doing that," Emmett said and crossed his arms defiantly. "Just our luck," he grumbled and kicked at the little piles of grass, sending the cut grass blades flying through the air, then watched them sailing to the ground again.

And Jasper? Jasper just went to get the rakes, all the while trying to figure out what he had done to deserve this.

Poor Jasper ... now he has to work because of Em. But let's blame Edward, okay? Haha ;-)

Thank you soooo much for reading and reviewing, guys! I know it doesn't seem like it because it took me forever to update, but I really appreciate it that you read and review my stories. Again, thank you!