Penname: javamomma0921

Derivative Fiction

Rating: M

Disclaimer: All copyrights, trademarked items, or recognizable characters, plots, etc. mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. No copying or reproduction of this work is permitted without their express written authorization.

Idea Completion: You run away from home.

Aftermath

There was work to be done and it was grim. The girl lay lifeless in the middle of the clearing and I could tell just by looking at her clothes that someone cared for her, someone would be looking. Without a word, we walked over to where she was and stood over her. She was so small and broken as she lay on the ground. I hated myself for feeling jealous of her.

"There is a lake near here," I said. "If we weigh her down and take her to the bottom, she won't surface while she can be identified."

I looked up at him and the pain was evident in his eyes. He never said anything and he refused my help. He growled when I came near to help bind her limbs and merely handed me his shoes when it was time to take her down. I handed him the rope but he would not allow me to kiss him. I hoped things would be better when the girl was out of his sight, but I couldn't see.

It took him nearly a full half hour under the lake to properly secure her. When he surfaced, he emerged from the lake still angry and despondent. I approached him and he attempted to walk past me but I refused to let him by. He stood dripping in front of me, a tortured expression on his face. He both wanted me and wanted to run away from me. I could see both futures stretching out in front of me and my face went blank.

In the first, I would take him deep into the forest. We would make love there and reconnect. The horror and sadness of tonight would be left in the past where it belonged. In the second, he would run and I would follow him. I would catch him, of course, and we would reconcile. But always the murder and his abandonment would be there, looming between us. I couldn't allow that.

"No," I snarled, crouching. "You're not leaving me."

He snorted and his face was angry.

"I won't allow it, Jas."

"I'm a monster," he whispered. "For killing that poor girl and for allowing you to watch…I don't deserve you."

"You're not a monster. And I want you whether you think you deserve me or not."

He let out a strangled cry and threw his head back. He was in physical pain, processing his own emotions and trying to understand mine. I wished for a moment that I could stop feeling in order to ease his pain. I tried only to focus on my goal, to cut my heart off from my mind so that I could focus only on him.

"I want you to stop this," I pleaded. "If you run from me, it will take me a week or more to find you. Once I do, this will always be here between us. If you just come with me now, it'll all be over."

"No it won't," he said. "It'll always be there."

"But it won't be between us anymore. You don't want anything between us, do you?"

It worked.

The growl that ripped through his chest wasn't pained or angry. It was possessive. No, he didn't want anything between us. He wanted to own and possess me. I smiled and opened my arms as he ran toward me.

He scooped me up and ran with me deeper into the forest. I curled against his wet chest, snaking my arms around his neck as he ran. I felt the tension in his neck releasing as he ran and his arms tightening around me. He ran us far into the forest, until we reached a stand of large trees. The night was becoming darker and the air was charged with electricity. It was going to storm.

He found a large tree and rested me against it, his mouth finally finding mine. There was nothing gentle in his kiss now; he was insistent and needy. Our clothes didn't last long, ripped and thrown aside carelessly; they were unnecessary now.

He moved us roughly against the big tree and entered me, my body responding to his immediately. We made love in the rain, moved by the rhythm of the thunder and the wind. As we moved together, he reminded me over and over that he belonged to me, only to me, and he would never have enough of me. It was what we needed. When it was over, our bodies spent and lying tangled with each other and the forest grasses, he whispered the story of his life before.

I was seeing a whole other side of Jasper: a vampire soldier, programmed to lead, command, and kill…always the killing. He shivered with his memories of the woman who both gave him immortality and stole every shred of his humanity. He both loved and hated her, but it was a love born of fear. As he told me his story, I lay quiet, as still as a statue. Only my fingers moved, gently moving circles in his hair and letting him know that she would never possess him again.

When it was over and he came to the part where he found me, he curled his large body up closer to mine and I held him there, silently offering the forgiveness he was seeking with the promise of my love. I held him like that for a long time, the storm raged and then passed over us as we held each other. When the first light started to touch the sky, Jasper stirred for the first time.

He leaned up on one arm and looked at me. The pain and fear was gone from his face; it was smooth and gentle.

"Marry me," he said.

I caressed his face; it must have been a split second decision, because I didn't see it coming. All I could do was stare at him and smile.

"I know its unnecessary for creatures like us. What do marriage vows mean to an immortal? But I want you to have my name…I want my ring on your finger…I want to hear you say your mine forever."

"I am yours forever…immortally, if you will." I smiled and kissed him deeply.

"So will you marry me?"

"Of course."

"Let's go then," he said, getting up.

"Wait, now?" He couldn't mean right now…there was the license and the judge and the dress. I'd get to wear a wedding dress. My eyes blanked over and I could almost see it before the future changed again.

"Oh no you don't, you little psychic," he said, whipping me into his arms. "I'm going to surprise you if it takes the rest of my existence to do it."

I pouted, putting my forehead against his and looking into his eyes.

"We can't get married like this…people would talk."

He looked down at us, standing naked and sparkling like diamonds in the center of the forest. He threw his head back and laughed loudly, the sound echoing off the trees.

"Why not? I think you look perfect just the way you are." He bent down and kissed my neck, softly at first and then nipping at the skin until I couldn't breathe from laughing.

"Alright, so we're going to get married in the nude and expose ourselves as vampires as well?" I asked when he finally put me to the ground. "You don't intend on being married for long, do you?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Alice," he said softly. "I intend of being married for the rest of forever. I'm just not going to tell you when it will happen. As long as I know you're willing, I can make the arrangements."

"You're trying to surprise a psychic vampire…not the easiest thing to do, you know?"

"You're worth the effort, sweet thing," he said, letting his southern accent roll the words together and making my stomach flutter. He knew I liked it when he talked to me like that.

We had taken to stowing clothes in the forest for situations such as these. In general, we weren't prone to destroying each other's clothes in fits of passion. But it happened and for that reason it was prudent to keep extra clothes around.

We dressed and gathered our belongings from the room we had rented. It was time to move on. On our way out of time, I glimpsed a newspaper headline about a young girl, Catherine Tory, who had gone missing in the woods two nights before. The police were searching for clues but it was thought that the young girl had run away from home after a dispute about her boyfriend. The authorities were questioning the boyfriend, but found no leads. I knew they never would.

A/N: And in surprising the psychic pixie, I get to surprise you, my faithful readers. ;) Did you enjoy his proposal? I thought it was very romantic actually, even though it was born from pain. What did you think? Jasper and Alice continue to amaze me...they are not the easiest characters to write, but they are truly passionate and beautiful characters. I really enjoy them as a couple. I hope you do too. In answer to a question, I regret that I won't be writing the time when they find the Cullens. I'm saving that for Edward's story. :) Hope you don't mind too much; I'd like to write that from Edward's POV...but I might consider a o/s when Edward's story is over from Alice's POV about the meeting. We'll see. :) Thanks so much for reading! ~Jen