The third day of Christmas

"Aww look how cute it is!" Alice said, bending down and putting her face close to the cage.

"Darlin', it's a turkey." Jasper said, "It is not cute."

"Look at it!" She squealed, peering through the mesh at the birds who were wondering around pecking at seed on the ground. "Can I have one Jasper, can I?"

Jasper raised an eyebrow, "What do you want a turkey for?"

"For a pet, duh?" She said.

"Alice." Jasper said, his voice clearly showing he thought she was crazy.

"What?" She asked.

"You can't have a pet in a house of vampires." He told her.

"No one would dare eat my turkey." She pouted.

"Well, it is Christmas, Darlin'." Jasper joked. Her pout turned to a glare, and Jasper frowned. He didn't like seeing her beautiful features turned into such a harsh facial expression. "Alice, you know I'd give you anything to make you happy, but-"

"So I can have one? Thank you Jasper! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Alice squealed, bouncing around him in a circle. She'd zoomed off to see the owner of the turkeys before he could stop her. When he finally caught up to her, she was chattering away excitedly to the farmer. "We'll give him a good home, don't you worry! They really are cute, don't you think?!"

"Darlin'," Jasper said softly, "Let's not make rash decisions."

"But, Jazzy, I want one." Alice whined softly, her bottom lip sticking out as she turned to look up at him with those big golden eyes. He felt his unbeating heart melt.

He turned to the farmer, "How much for the turkey?"

The farmer was still looking confused, "Most people this time of year are looking to buy Christmas dinner, not a pet."

"We're vegetarians." Alice told him, "I'd never eat an animal as beautiful as Cluck."

"Cluck?" Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My turkey. He's called Cluck." Alice explained.

"Turkeys don't cluck, Darlin'. They gobble." He told her.

She smiled, "My turkeys special though."

Jasper rarely understood his wife's crazy ideas, but he'd learnt to just go along with them. If she wanted a turkey called Cluck, she was going to have a turkey called Cluck.

They returned home with not only a pet turkey, but two ducks, a rooster, four geese, and three hens, imported from France. Jasper had never been very good at saying no to Alice.

The family had simply stared as they watched Jasper and Alice unload the birds from the car. Alice was excited for the rest of the day, running around after her new pets and squealing each time any of them made a noise. They all had names, all of them as inappropriate as Cluck the turkey.

She'd forgotten her farm animals by the next day, and Carlisle had them shipped off to a homeless shelter, ready to be someone's Christmas dinner. Alice didn't bring up the birds again until two years later.

"What happened to Cluck?" She asked.

"Hmm, Darlin'?" Jasper had asked, feigning ignorance even though his perfect memory was working just fine.

"My turkey." Alice said, a crease forming between her eyes as she tried to remember what had happened to her pet.

Instead of telling her the truth, Jasper - who had just had to witness Emmett's I-Win-You-Lose dance after he beat Jasper at a game of Halo - blamed his brother. "Emmett ate him."

Alice's pixie features grew angry and she stormed off to go beat up her brother for eating her "beloved" pet. Jasper smiled as he heard Esme trying to break up the fight, telling her adopted children that it wasn't in the Christmas spirit to fight.

She'd come back to Jasper ten minutes later, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment, "I miss Cluck!"

Whilst Jasper knew this was ridiculous - she'd all but forgotten about the bird for the past two years - he couldn't bare to see her upset. He wrapped her in his arms and soothed her, "Pets aren't forever, Darlin', you had to let him go at some point."

She looked up at him, "Will I have to let you go at some point? Because I don't ever want that to happen."

"I'm not a pet." Jasper told her reproachfully as she giggled and told him that he was indeed her pet, "And I'm definitely forever."

"Good." Alice whispered, "Me too."

As Jasper smiled down at her, she didn't need to see the future to know their words were true.

~On the Third day of Christmas my true love sent to me three french hens~

A/N: I did wonder what the Cullen's ate for Christmas...thoughts? ;)

See you tomorrow ;)