DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT OR ANY OF S. MEYER'S CHARACTERS… UNFORTUNATELY.

I JUST PLAY WITH THEM.

Blood In The Snow Chapter 34

Previously:

DPOV

While the men got ready, Felix and I checked our weapons, including our personal weapons, got our skis on and I made sure I had my portable GPS in my pocket.

Looking around, I see that everyone is ready. "Let's go." We head out through the silent forest toward the lodge.

DPOV

It's amazing just how quiet it is out here in the forest, the snow getting heavier and heavier. Even with the ten of us, if you don't see us, you'll never know we are here. This is gonna work. I can feel it. Whitlock will be dead. Aro will be satisfied. He and his brothers will go back to Chicago and leave me alone… in peace.

Glancing back, I check on the men. They all seem to be doing just fine. Almost silently moving through the trees, just the soft 'whooshing' sound of their skis on the snow. I check our GPS co-ordinates and see that the lodge should be just on the other side of the small hill up ahead. Raising my fist, we all stop. I motion for the men to gather close to me. Quietly, I give them their final orders.

"The lodge is just on the other side of that small hill." I point to the hill. "We split up here." Pointing at the different pairs, I indicate where I want them. "You two… go around the south side of the hill… take the south side of the lodge. You two go around the north side and cover the north side of the lodge. The rest of you come with me." They all nod and move to their positions, waiting for my nod. I nod and they all move out like a well-oiled team should.

EPOV

Jasper and I have been hunkered down behind the couch for the last hour. Ever since it started getting dark, we are both on edge. I adjusted the blinds, a little while ago, so that we can see out a bit, but no one can see in. I keep going over everything in my mind to be sure we are ready… guns… yup, ammunition… yup, flares and launcher…yup. They are all loaded and ready.

Alec is lying here, between us. He's not sure what the new game is, but he seems to like it.

Jasper is facing the front door and I'm watching the kitchen and living room doors. I keep hoping that Charlie will get here before the Volturi, but I have this sinking feeling that he won't. We are going to have to hang on by ourselves for a while. It does help to know that help is on the way.

"Love?" Jasper turns to see what I want. "Just point that shotgun at the door and pull the trigger if it opens. With that thing you don't really have to aim."

"Gotcha."

He tries to give me a grin, but it looks more like a grimace. He's as scared as I am. "We're going to be okay." I reach over, caressing his cheek with my fingertips. He leans closer to kiss me, his hand slipping around behind my head to tangle in my hair as he deepens the kiss. When air becomes a necessity, I pull back slightly, then rest my forehead to his, gazing into his crystalline blue eyes. "I love you, Jasper… now and forever."

"As I love you, Edward." He closes his eyes for a second, then looks at me. "Tomorrow, we go ring shopping." I grin and agree. "We should elope to New York and get married the day after and then disappear for a month or so on a honeymoon!"

I can't help but giggle at his enthusiasm. "I want to be married to you as soon as possible…."

"But?"

"I'd really like my folks to be there." I look into his beautiful eyes. "Would you mind, terribly, if we invite them to elope with us?" I press soft, butterfly kisses across his cheeks and on the tip of his nose.

He grins at me, his love practically radiating from him. "I think that's a wonderful idea." Wrapping his arms around me, he pulls me even closer, pressing his lips to mine. Our lips part, tongues gently massaging each other. Soft moans fill the air.

"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…" A deep, rumbling growl erupts from behind me. Alec is on his feet, staring at the kitchen door.

I reach out and grab Alec's collar, stopping him from leaping over the couch. "Easy, Alec." I can see the doorknob moving. Someone is trying to get in. I look over at Jasper; he's watching it, too. I nod toward the front door and he turns to watch it, gun ready. Propping the 30/30 on the back of the couch, I aim for the kitchen door and wait. Alec rumbles quietly, staring at the door. I hear a soft click and the door slowly swings open. Resting my finger on the trigger, I wait for him to appear in the doorway. For a minute or so, nothing happens… then I see a man sidle into the kitchen. Raising my gun, I take aim and squeeze the trigger. The report is deafening, but I hear the intruder scream and watch him fall to the floor.

Jasper's head jerks around in time to see the man fall. He pats me on the back. "Good shot." he whispers and the turns back to the front door.

Alec twists out of my grip, leaps over the couch and slips out the door.

Right then, I hear Jasper fire off the double barrel shotgun. Jerking around, I see one guy fall in the door with another coming behind him. Jasper lets go with the other barrel and the second guy goes down, too. Don't know if they are dead or just hurt, but at least they're stopped.

It gets quiet and we look at each other quizzically. Shrugging my shoulders, I indicated the doors… we needed to keep an eye out. Charlie told us there would be at least 10 of them and so far we've only seen 3. Just then we hear a blood-curdling scream from the back deck. I edged up just enough to peek out the window, just in time to see Alec with a mouth full of some guy's privates. As I watch, the guy goes down to his knees, Alec lets go and I can see the blood dripping from the guy's crotch. Well, there's another one out of commission. Good for Alec. He slid off the porch, looking for his next victim.

I could see a couple of guys headed for the living room doors. Sure enough, glass shatters and with ear splitting yells they barrel into the room. I shoot one of them, but before I can draw a bead on the other one, he is coming around the end of the couch, his gun pointed at me. I yell. "Watch out!"

Jasper whips around, raising his shotgun and pulling the trigger. The guy flies backwards, hitting the wall. "Edward? Are you alright?"

I can see Jasper's mouth moving, but it almost seems in slow motion and I can't hear anything. I feel warmth trailing down my left arm. What?

Jasper slides over next to me, grabbing me. "Edward? Your arm… it's bleeding."

"What?" I can barely hear him. My ears are ringing.

He pulls off his shirt, tearing a piece off it and wraps it around my upper arm. "It went straight through." He ties it tightly. Damn. That hurts. "Baby? Are you okay?" I can see that he is about to lose it.

"I can't hear very well… ears ringing. I'm okay. Doesn't hurt too bad." I try to smile at him. "Don't worry about me. I'm fine."

"Look at me." He looks intently into my eyes. "Okay. At least you're here with me now. A minute ago, I thought you were about to pass out on me."

I give him a sheepish smile. "Yeah… so did I. I'm okay now."

A sudden roar outside causes us both to duck down. "What the hell is that!?" I edge back over to the end of the couch to take a peek outside. The backyard is lit up like its daytime. It's a bloody helicopter. Great. Just what we need… more Volturi. Wish Charlie would hurry up.

"Jasper… can you get to the front door and see if it will close?"

"Yeah." He crouches down and works his way over to the door. Luckily, it isn't broken and he is able to close it and even lock it back. He pulls one of the overstuffed chairs in front of the door. Looking over at me, he grins wickedly. "Little extra obstacle for them."

I chuckle. "Works for me." I peer around the end of the couch again and jump back, grabbing Jasper, throwing us both to the floor… just as a burst of gunfire explodes. "Keep your head down."

"Holy shit! They got a whole army out there?" Jasper mumbles. "Where the hell is Charlie and the cavalry?"

"Don't know, but I hope they're close." It gets quiet outside. Then we hear a cold voice.

"Jasper Whitlock. Come out and talk to me. Surely we can work this out."

I look over at Jasper. "Who is that?"

"Aro Volturi."

"Don't even think about going out there. You know he will kill you."

"Jasper. You know me. I'm a reasonable man. Save your friend, Edward. Come out and he can go."

Jasper looks at me. I can see his mind working. "NO! He's lying. You know this."

"I know, Baby. I'm not going out there." He reaches out and pulls me close to him, planting a sweet kiss on my lips. The he grabs his shotgun, points it at the back deck and shoots both barrels. "That's your answer, Aro! Go get screwed!" He shouts.

My phone chooses that moment to vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out and see a text from dad. Be there in 2 minutes. Hold on. I nudge Jasper and show him the text. Silly grins stretched both our faces. "Here comes the cavalry!" I whisper.

The roar of the helicopter is drowned out by a large number of snowmobile engines. Gunfire rings out, sounding like world war three. Seems like it is never going to end, but in reality, it probably only lasts for about ten minutes. Then it is eerily quiet, with the exception of the helicopter's motor still running. We can hear someone yelling to stop. We ease over to the window to see what's going on, just in time to see that all of Aro's men are either dead, wounded or in custody… except for the brothers and Demetri. They are scrambling for the helicopter and no one is close enough to stop them. I have to wonder why they don't just shoot them.

As the helicopter begins to lift, Demetri dangling on one skid, Jasper turns and grabs the flare launcher, a few flares and fiddles with the controls on it. He runs to the door and out on to the deck. He raises the launcher, aiming for the escaping helicopter, fires, but misses. "Edward… how do I set this thing for distance?" I show him. He loads another flare, sights in on the helicopter that is rapidly approaching the smoking volcano known as Mt. Rainier. "Die, damn you!" He screams as he fires. All activity stops as everyone turns to watch the trajectory of the flare.

From the intensity of the explosion, he must have shot that flare right into the fuel tank. Everyone watches with morbid fascination as the helicopter spirals down into the crater of the mountain. The flames shooting out of the crater are a pretty good indication that the Volturi are no more.

"Edward! Are you alright?" My dad runs up on to the deck, wrapping me in his arms.

"I'm fine, dad." I try to reassure him, but he sees the cloth tied around my arm.

"What's this?"

I can't help but chuckle. "It's just a 'flesh wound', dad." He rolls his eyes at me. He sees Jasper behind me. "Jasper?"

"Yes, Sir."

Dad reaches for him and gives him a hug. "Thank you for taking care of Edward. Are you okay?" He looks Jasper over quickly.

"I'm fine. Edward's arm… the bullet went straight through. I don't think it did any major damage."

He pulls us both back into the house, into the kitchen, turning on the light so he can check us out more thoroughly.

CHPOV

When we were still in the forest, we could hear the shooting and then the helicopter. I was afraid that we were going to be too late to save the boys. I had such a sick feeling in my stomach. But by god, no matter what we found, I was determined to take down the Volturi once and for all.

When we finally broke out of the trees, I could see several bodies lying on the deck and in the snow. There are a couple of guys on their knees, clutching their groins, screaming… blood running out between their fingers. Damn. Wonder what happened to them?

Stockwell's men are well trained… they take out the rest of Aro's men in short order. My team goes in to secure the house and see if Jasper and Edward are still alive. Before they can get to the house, Aro, his brothers and Demetri run for their chopper and it starts to lift off. Jasper comes out on to the deck with what looks like a rocket launcher. He fires it off and I realize it is some kind of fancy flare gun. He misses the chopper with the first shot, the he reloads and screams out 'Die, damn you!' and fires again.

This one hit. Boy, I'll say it did. That helicopter explodes and then begins to spiral down into Mt. Rainier. You can tell when it hit bottom… a ball of flame shoots out of the crater. We'll have to send a team up there to see if there are any survivors, but I doubt any of them did. Good riddance.

Carlisle spots the boys on the deck and runs over to check them out, dragging them into the kitchen and turning on the light. I make my way over to the deck and work my way past the bodies. As I enter the kitchen, I can hear Carlisle.

"Let me take a look at your arm, Edward." Carlisle has him sit on one of the stools at the counter as he unwinds the blood soaked cloth from around his left upper arm. He peers closely at the entry and exit wounds, prodding gently. "Luckily, it didn't hit any bone. I need to clean it and put a dressing on it." He looks around and sees me. "Oh… Charlie… could you get one of your guys to bring me my bag? I left it on the snowmobile."

"Sure thing." I key my radio. "Embry."

"Yeah, Charlie."

"Bring the doc's bag into the kitchen. He left it on the snowmobile."

"Sure thing. Be right there."

"Jasper, Edward… you boys did good." I am impressed that they managed to hold off ten of Aro's men and only get one small injury.

"Thanks, Charlie." Jasper grinned at him. "So… did you like my grand finale?"

I looked at him, puzzled. "Grand finale?"

"The rather impressive light show at the end…"

I have to laugh. He looks so proud of himself. "Oh… that was my favorite part. At least they went out with a big bang!" We all start laughing.

Embry comes in with the doc's bag and looks at us like we've lost our minds. Once it is explained to him, he joins in the laughter. He hands the bag to the doc.

CPOV

"Thanks" I open the bag and dig out some antibacterial liquid and apply it to Edward's arm.

"Ouch! Damn, dad that stings." Edward flinches as I apply more.

"It has to be done, son. Don't want it getting infected." Using a gauze swab I clean the wound thoroughly then apply a dressing to both the entrance and exit wounds.

"No stitches?" Edward looks puzzled.

"No, it needs to heal from the inside out. Every day, you will have to put some of this antibacterial cream inside the wound, both sides." I dig out a couple of tubes of the cream.

Jasper reaches out and takes them from me. "I'll take care of it, Carlisle."

He looks at Edward with such love shining in his eyes, it nearly takes my breath away. "Thank you, Jasper. It will be difficult for him to reach the back of his arm."

Jasper moves next to Edward, sliding his arm around him, pulling him close. He rests his forehead against Edward's and softly sighs. "I will do anything for Edward."

Reaching out, I pat Jasper on the shoulder. "I know you will, son. Thank you."

Jasper's smile nearly lights up the room.

"You boys stay here and rest a bit. I know Charlie has some things to take care of before we can get out of here."

"Okay, dad." Edward looks around the room. "Uh… dad… have you seen Alec? Was he outside when you got here?"

"I didn't see him." I look around, but don't see the dog anywhere. I suddenly realize how those two men came to have so much damage to their genitals. Alec. Doing what he does best… protecting Edward.

"I need to go and find him" Edward steps down from the stool, Jasper with one arm around him, steadying him.

"Come on, Babe… we'll go find him." Jasper steers them out to the back deck.

I can hear them both calling for Alec. I hope that dog is all right. It will devastate them both if something happened to him.

EPOV

"Alec! Come here, boy." I look all around for that dog. Where can he be? "Love, you look over there…" I point around the side of the house. "… I'll check down by the garage."

"Okay. Yell if you find him." Jasper heads round the corner of the house and I walk down toward the garage. I can hear Jasper calling for Alec. I think he loves that dog as much as I do.

"Alec! Where are you?" Oh please… don't let him be dead. I peer into the trees around the garage, but don't see him. Opening the garage door, I call out for him, but… nothing.

"Edward!" I hear Jasper yelling for me.

"Yeah! I'm coming." I run back to the house and around the corner. Close to the front porch, I see a dark mound lying in the snow… not moving. Jasper is kneeling beside it. I slide to a stop. "Oh god. Is it him?"

"Yeah."

"Is he alive?" I crumble to my knees beside him… reaching for my beloved dog. "Please tell me he's alive…" Tears run down my face as Jasper wraps his arms around me.

"He's still breathing, Edward. We need to get him to a vet. I can't see any injuries… maybe he just got knocked out."

"Dad! Dad!"

My dad comes running around the house. "Edward? What is it?" He sees Alec lying there in the snow. "Oh, Edward… is he…?"

"No, he's still breathing. Can you check him out?"

"Let's get him inside and warmed up. Just remember, son, I'm not a vet."

I pick Alec up and carefully carry him around to the kitchen, placing him on the counter. Jasper runs into the living room and grabs a blanket to cover him. Dad gets his bag and starts checking him over.

"I don't see any wounds." He feels along Alec's ribcage. "Can't feel any broken ribs. I think, maybe, he's just stunned."

I steadily stroke his face and ears, softly begging him to wake up. Jasper is gently stroking my back, trying to help me. I turn my face to him. He gently touches his lips to mine, softly whispering to me that Alec will be fine. It's the only choice. As Jasper comforts me, I feel a wet tongue swipe across my fingers.

"Alec!" His big, beautiful golden brown eyes gaze up at me. I cry like a baby. "Oh Alec… you're okay. Oh, thank god!" I look back as Jasper to see him crying just as hard as I am.

AN: Well… that's the last regular chapter. There will be an epilogue… probably in a couple of weeks. Thank you all so much for sticking with me through this journey. I never thought it would turn out like this and have so many of you who like it. Thank you all so VERY much!

If this story should disappear, you can find it over on The Writers Coffee Shop. .com (slash) library I am shewoolf over there, too.