DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANY OF

S. MEYER'S CHARACTERS… UNFORTUNATELY.

I JUST PLAY WITH THEM.

Blood In The Snow Chapter 15

Previously:

The moon shines on the snow outside, giving a soft glow over the bedroom. It gives Jasper's skin a soft luminosity. I drift off, content to have the love of my life safe in my arms.|

EPOV

Jasper is wrapped around me so tightly I can barely move. His face snuggled into my chest, his warm breath softly washing across my skin. I could be very happy to wake up like this every morning for the rest of my life.

Ah…crap! Cramp. My lower back was twisted around, allowing my legs to intertwine with Jasper's and apparently had been for some time. Now, it was protesting. I have to move. NOW. I pull back from Jasper. H tightens his grip on me. I wiggle my legs and shift my body slightly. Reaching over, I grab a pillow, thinking to replace my body with it. I manage to scoot downwards, loosening his arms from around my waist. Slipping the pillow into his arms, he mumbles something in his sleep and snuggles in to the pillow. Untangling our legs, I slide off the bottom of the bed and on to the floor. Stretching my arms over my head, I sigh in relief as the kinks in my back ease.

Jasper is downright adorable when he's asleep. His face is so expressive. He must be dreaming…about me, I hope. Such a sweet smile lights up his face and then he nestles his face in to the soft pillow. I wonder how he can breathe. I could almost stand here all morning, just watching him sleep, but my body has other ideas and I make my way into the bathroom to take care of business.

I flush the toilet, then turn the water on in the sink to brush my teeth. I guess I could go ahead and get a shower… but I'd rather wait and share one with my boy. Yeah… I smile… much better idea.

Alec barrels past me as I head downstairs to set up the coffeepot, nearly knocking me over. "Alec! Slow down, dog." He slides to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, looking over his shoulder at me with the most innocent expression. "Don't give me that." I can't help but chuckle at that silly animal. As I reach the bottom of the stairs, he dashes over to the door, practically dancing in place. "I'm coming, be patient." I didn't like having to lock his doggie door shut at night, but the last time I left it unlocked, it took three days to catch and remove the family of raccoons who decided that this was their new home. So… Alec had to just tough it out over night.

Watching Alec dash across the snow covered yard, I can't help but chuckle at him. Silly dog still thinks he's a puppy. Can't help but love him. I unlock the doggie door as I make my way in to the kitchen to get the coffee going. Nothing smells better in the morning than coffee brewing. I think I will fix a breakfast tray to take up and surprise Jasper with. Rummaging in the refrigerator, I pull out some cream cheese, some English muffins to toast and a couple different flavors of jam. While the muffins toasted and the coffee brewed, I cut up some fresh fruit to finish it off.

Loading up the tray with the toasted English muffins, jam and all the fixings, I add the pot of coffee and mugs. Alec is still outside, so maybe I can make it upstairs without getting knocked over.

Jasper is still in bed, but is getting restless. Should be waking up any minute. I set the tray on the bedside table, sliding on to the bed next to him. He rolls over, snuggling close to me. I barely brush my lips across his cheek, to his ear. "Baby…" The tip of my tongue snakes out to swipe along the outer edge of his ear and I watch the goose bumps raise across his neck as he shivers from the sensations. "Baby…" I whisper again. "Time to get up, love."

His eyes slowly open, blinking against the morning light. A sweet, sleepy smile spreads across his face. "Hi, love." His voice still raspy with sleep, he reaches up his hand to stroke my cheek as I lean down for a morning kiss.

"I brought some breakfast. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah." He sits up and reaches for the coffee first thing. "Oh…that's what I needed." He sigh's in contentment, savoring his first sip of coffee of the morning. Setting the mug down, he gets out of bed, stretching… making my mouth water at the sight of his bare skin… then heads for the bathroom.

After we finish our breakfast, we jump into the shower together. Of course, our 'quick' shower turns into a love fest. We only get out because the water started running cold. Watching Jasper pulling on his jeans, absolute joy washes over me, realizing that I want to spend every morning like this… for the rest of my life. I can't imagine not having my Jasper with me, always.

"Hey Baby." Jasper looks over at me, one eyebrow raised in question. "Christmas is just a week away."

"Yeah?"

"Well… we don't have a tree." I grin at him. "And you can't have Christmas without a tree."

"This is true." He smiles, but I can see the sorrow in his eyes as they fill with tears.

"Oh god, Jasper. I'm sorry." I fly across the room and gather him in my arms. "I wasn't thinking." Stroking his hair, I can feel warm tears falling on my neck. "Oh, baby. I'm so sorry. We can just skip the holidays if it will be easier for you." Moving us to the bed, I sit on the edge, pulling him on to my lap, gently rocking him. "I know, baby. I know it hurts. I'm here for you… always." I murmur softly to him, placing soft kisses to his head and neck. Jasper burrows tighter in to me, sniffling. We sit for a few minutes and I can feel him slowly calming.

Raising his head to look at me, he wipes the tears from his face. "I'm sorry." He mumbles so softly that if I hadn't been looking at him, I might have missed it. "I don't want to ruin it for you."

"No, baby. You won't ruin anything." I rubbed slow circles on his back, seeking to soothe him. "I wasn't thinking. I know it will be hard for you, with your parents gone." I hug him tightly. "I am so sorry. I wouldn't hurt you on purpose for the world."

He reached up and silenced me with his finger on my lips. "I know." Shaking his head he gave me a sheepish little smile. "I didn't mean to fall apart on you like that."

"No… it's all right. I took you by surprise."

"Love… I know you would never do anything to hurt me. I know this." He kissed me softly. "It just suddenly hit me that my parents wouldn't be here for Christmas. It's the first time… ever… that we haven't spent the holidays together. Kinda hit me like a ton of bricks."

We sat quietly, lost in our own thoughts for a few minutes, just losing ourselves in the security of each other.

Jasper untangled himself from me, crawling out of my lap. "Let's go get a tree."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup. Mom and dad wouldn't want me to mope around through Christmas." He moved over to the dresser and began rummaging around for socks, tossing me a pair. Looking over his shoulder at me he asked, "You do have an extra pair of boots that will fit me, don't you?"

"Sure do." Luckily, we are about the same size. Actually, I think my boots may be a little big, but they should work. We bundle up for the trip out into the snowy woods.

I go around to the garage to get the saw and as I come back around to the porch, I see Alec has decided to join us on our 'adventure'. He is so excited to see us outside; he is bouncing up and down while Jasper stands helplessly laughing at the silly animal. I just stand and watch the two of them. It makes my heart warm to see Jasper laugh. I need to see a lot more of that. I will make it my mission to make the man I love happy again. Whatever it takes.

Jasper looks up and sees me standing there, grinning at me. I motion for him to come with me and as we head out into the woods to find our perfect tree, a light snow begins to fall.

AN: I know this is a short chapter…. And late. Sorry. RL has been kicking me in the backside for the last couple of weeks. Hopefully, it's gonna get a bit less crazy.