Chapter Nine: Alice and Jasper

A/N: I'd like to apologize in advance for how short the next few chapters are. Chapter Thirteen is currently three pages if that is any consolation.

EPOV

Not long after leaving Volterra, our family was the subject of one of the stranger occurrences of vampiric history. It was definitely a surprise, but even so, I'd known something was wrong before I so much as parked the car.

Emmett and I had been hunting out of state, and as such had been gone for a while. When we came back, the thoughts of our family were accompanied by those of two strangers, and everyone was keeping careful control over the contents of their mind.

I warned Emmett to be on his guard. He nodded and jumped out to open the garage door for me. As I drove in and parked, I noticed that besides the family cars, the garage was filled with boxes which were, on closer inspection, filled with my possessions. I wondered vaguely what I could possibly have done to make Esme this upset. After a long glance with Emmett, we cautiously entered the house.

Inside our family sat waiting for us in the living room. Carlisle looked bemused, Esme a little stressed and Rosalie was smirking. Across from them sat the two strangers. One, a tall blond male, covered in battle scars which caused Emmet to let out a low growl in warning. He tensed, but otherwise paid no mind to the threat. The other vampire was a tiny female with short spiky hair. She grinned from ear to ear and was practically bouncing in her seat. Both had golden eyes.

Esme was in front of me in an instant and wrapped me up in a big hug. I'm sorry about this, I really am, but there wasn't really any stopping Alice and they have been through such a lot to find us...I'm already working on extending the house I promise.I gave her a look of complete and utter confusion.

Emmet seemed to be reflecting my mood. 'Will someone please explain what exactly is going on her?' He asked in exasperation.

The small happy vampire decided this was her cue to talk. 'Hi Emmet! Hi Edward! I'm really sorry about your room and all, but Jasper and I needed one and yours has the best view so...'

'Alice, perhaps I better explain' The tall, sober one cut her off. He turned towards us. 'My name is Jasper and this is my wife Alice. Alice has visions of the future and saw your family in ours so we came looking. We've only be trying to find you for about a year though, so apparently you're a lot easier to find than I was'

'Considerably' agreed Alice 'and don't worry, Esme's building you a new room and it will be absolutely lovely.' She nodded vigorously.

Emmet still looked confused and Rosalie grinned at him 'They stole Edwards room' she explained, causing him to erupt into bouts of laughter.

I just rolled my eyes and redirected my attention to what Carlisle was telling me.

We've already invited them to stay, but if you can hear something that you perceive as a threat...

I concentrated on the new comers. They were odd, certainly - even Alice's thoughts were odd. But neither thought anything to suggest that they were less than genuine.

Instead of answering Carlisle's prompt directly, I turned to the new comers. 'Its a pleasure to meet you both.'

Jasper gave a small smile, but Alice jumped up and flew over to hug me tightly. 'I'm so happy! We're going to be great friends!'