Esme quietly padded down the stairs following the enraged voices of her boys emanating from the direction of the garage. Coarse language and infuriated tones assaulted her ears, leaving her with thoughts of how lucky her children were that she was here to break them up instead of Carlisle. The family patriarch did not take kindly to violence between his offspring and was intolerant of the harsh vulgarity that was being so carelessly tossed around. In her place, her beloved would be soaping mouths and tanning hides but Esme hoped that she would be able to put a stop to the bickering easily with a stern verbal reprimand. Once control of the situation was in her hands she could sort out the cause of this debacle, resolve it and return the house to the peaceful safe haven they all needed it to be.
As her hand reached for the doorknob, a shattering of glass filled the air only to be followed by a feminine voice making some very disparaging remarks towards her brother. Esme sighed inwardly as hopes of a peaceful resolution evaporated. With three tempers flaring she would certainly have her hands full. Taking a deep breath she opened the door stepping into a war zone.
Esme gasped at the taunts Emmett was slinging towards Jasper. She had never known her teddy bear boy to be so cruel towards anyone, let alone his brother. This was not his usual teasing that they all had come to shrug off for the most part. Emmett was trying to hurt Jasper to goad him into a fight.
"Just what is going on in here? Emmett that is quite enough!"
The words had no sooner left her lips when they were drowned out by Jasper's outburst as he lunged at Emmett in attack. She was momentarily stunned into inactivity as she stood watching while her sons collided in battle.
"Jasper! Emmett! Stop this instant!"
The boys completely ignored her presence as their battle built steam. Fist and feet were flying and for the first time that she could think of she feared one of them would bite the other. Esme looked to her daughter for help. It was obvious that she wasn't going to be able to separate her two boys by herself but she still didn't cherish the idea of involving Carlisle if she could help it.
"Rose, help me. See if you can get through to Em. Rosalie, are you listening to me?"
Apparently not. To Esme's horror Rosalie was offering words of encouragement to her mate.
"Take him apart, monkey man! Show that little bastard whose boss around here!"
"Rosalie Hale!"
When the young woman finally turned to look at her, Esme was shocked by the intense anger in her features. Jasper's infectious emotional state appeared to be exacting its toll on everyone. Esme could feel the waves of anger knocking against her, setting her teeth on edge. She tried to focus on her breathing to maintain some measure of calm. Swallowing hard, she glared at her daughter.
"Rose, leave! You can't help in the state you're in. I need you to leave."
"Like hell I will!"
Esme counted slowly in her head as her eyes shifted from her daughter to her dueling sons and back again.
"Rosalie Lillian Hale, go in the house his instant. I realize that you are not yourself at the moment so I'm willing to over look your behavior but do not continue to push me."
Rose looked as if she was about to protest but instead gave her mother an anger driven snarl before shouting a few more words of encouragement to her mate as she slammed through the door leading into the house. Esme heard the wooden frame split with the force inflicted. Something else to add to the 'to do' list. At least she had managed to get compliance from her eldest daughter leaving just her boys to contend with.
She tried in vain to get their attentions by calling their names but the snapping, spitting and snarls nullified her words every time. It wasn't until one of Jasper's successful tackles sent he and his brother plowing through the garage door and into the yard that inspiration struck their desperate mother. A sudden cold jet of water shocked the warriors long enough to derail their objective.
"Momma?" Emmett noticed Esme for the first time as she stood a little distance away, the garden hose swinging gently in her hand.
Jasper, anger unabated by the dousing, used his brother's moment of confusion to his advantage. A kick to the stomach and a punch to the jaw sent Emmett crashing to the ground. The commanding solider was on top of his prone victim before the burly creature had a chance to register his actions. His iron grip closed tightly around his brother's neck causing his nails to dig into the soft yielding flesh.
This one's strength will be useful. I'll leave him broken but not dead. Jasper's other hand gripped Emmett's muscular arm. He pulled, feeling the shoulder pop out of joint, but before the limb broke free he was knocked away from his opponent by another newborn that he had not previously noticed.
"Jazzy, no!" Alice yelled while staring at her mate, her eyes huge and filled with despair. "You can't do this. You have to stop now."
The wheaten haired youth scrambled to his feet, growling at the two new interlopers while his throughly disciplined underling howled in pain and rage.
Edward quickly invaded his brother's thoughts but they did nothing to alleviate the confusion he had labored under since Alice's vision had sent them racing home. The images swirling through Jasper's head were dark and foreign to him. Jasper saw himself as outnumbered but instead of defensive fear, Edward heard his brother's internal voice strategizing their demise.
"Jazzy, it's me, love."
Jasper's head snapped around, his ebony eyes glaring hard at his mate but not seeing her at all.
"Alice, go stay by mom."
"I can help, Edward."
"NO! You can help by getting out of the way. He is not himself right now."
"But..."
Edward's inflection had gained his brother's attention and now he held Jasper's gaze while he continued to reason with his sister. He needed to stay connected to the riled soldier's mind to give himself extra time to react to what was amounting to an inevitable attack.
"Alice," he tried to calm his voice, "Jazz's mind is not right. If he hurts you, how do you think that will effect him? Do this for him. Get out of here."
With his eyes locked firmly on Jasper, Edward was not able to see the glazed over expression that momentarily froze his sister but he breathed a sigh of relief when he heard her move out of the danger zone. Her anguished thoughts sounded in his head but one didn't make sense to him. Please don't let this happen to daddy. Unfortunately, Edward didn't have the luxury of time to dwell on his sister's thought. Jasper's mind had abruptly issued the attack command which Edward had to quickly deflect.
As his brother launched his attack, Edward slid just outside of his trajected path and drove his elbow between Jasper's shoulder blades taking him down hard. Snarling, Jasper threw Edward off of himself landing a disorientating blow to his brother's temple. Much to his annoyance, the first son found himself pinned beneath his feral-ish brother enduring punishing blows. Beginning to question how much abuse his body could take, Edward became unexpectedly aware of the absence of Jasper's weight on him.
Skittering to his feet, he was surprised to find Emmett, left arm held tightly across his chest to limit movement, laying his full weight on Jasper pinning the boy to the ground. Edward rushed to aid in hanging onto his trapped frantic brother praying that he would give up quickly once he realized he was defeated.
"Enough." Emmett's voice sounded rough, pained and exhausted. "That's enough, little bro. I get it already. I owe you a bike." He panted heavily as he struggled to contain Jasper while fighting to endure his agony. His eyes searched out Edward's and he offered an embarrassed smile. "Hey, Ed, thanks for the assist. Would have been hell having to explain a missing arm to Pops."
Edward laughed softly at Emmett's attempt to inject humor into a stressful situation. "Yeah. Dislocated is going to be hard enough to own up to with that 'no fighting' rule in place."
Jasper's struggling slowed and then finally ceased. He glared at the two who held him. How could this have happened? Where had he gone wrong? He, who had never lost on the battle field, was now being held defeated and in disgrace. He closed his eyes trying to escape the shame within the darkness of his mind.
Someone was trilling his name in a soft purr as dainty fingers brushed the hair from his face. Opening his eyes, he found himself focusing on the beautiful little dark haired female who had shown up as reinforcement. He knew that he should hate her for the part that she had played in his downfall but there was something about her that drew him in. He trusted her. He wanted to stay with her.
"It's working, Alice. He still doesn't know but the walls are starting to crack."
Another lyrical smooth soft voice called his name as another hand ran lightly along his jaw and neck.
"Jasper? Can you hear me, Jasper? It's alright, son. You're safe. Your family is here for you. Look at me, sweetheart. Let me see your eyes."
Reluctantly he turned his head away from the pretty little pixie princess in response to the orders from the other female, but when his eyes met her's his body stiffened in fear.
"Maria." He whispered softly unable to take his eyes off of the dark haired goddess.
"No, honey. It's me. It's Esme. It's momma, baby."
His breaths became shallow and rapid as he began to hyperventilate in a held over human response to fear. I've disappointed her. Disgraced her. His rapid breathing came louder and his body began to shake beneath the weight of his brothers.
The dark haired beauty reached across him to cup his cheek but as soon as he felt her touch his panic peaked. She will punish me. KILL ME!
"Mom, look out!"
Edward's warning came too late. With barely a conscious thought, Jasper sank his teeth deeply into Esme's forearm flooding the wound with his venom.
At their mother's anguished cry, his brothers' confusion and horror caused their hold on him to weaken, allowing him to slip free. Jasper was on his feet growling at the males while he shielded Maria from them. It pained him to have hurt her but he would defend himself. He had to run. He had to escape. Now he would be a hunted thing. There would be no sanctuary anywhere for him. She would send them after him unless...
While keeping an eye on the males, he spoke softly to his beautiful Maria. "I can't live like this. I am sorry, Mi Amor, but without you to guide them they will lack direction. They will not seek me and I can be free. I truly wish that there was another way. I do, but you and I both know that there isn't."
In a blur of motion, Jasper's teeth found purchase in Esme's shoulder near the base of her throat. If he did it quickly her pain would be fleeting and it would be over. He struggled with his regret and the buffeting waves of her agony and fear. He shifted his grip to deliver the death blow when a crippling pain engulfed his side as his body went flying, stopping only once it slammed heavily against a tree.
"Esme?" Carlisle's voice was panicked as he knelt next to his mate.
Tears rolled down her cheeks while she ground her teeth against the searing torture of the venom coursing through her body.
"I'm alright, Carlisle."
Her sharp intake of air told him otherwise. "Oh, Esme." He held her tightly for a moment before reluctantly releasing her. What would he have done if he had arrived a few seconds later? He shuddered at the idea but had to put his feelings to the side for now and allow the doctor in him to take over and see to her welfare. Just as he began check her wounds a resounding bellow diverted all attention to his solider son who stood confidently before him.
"Leave her. She's mine!"
Carlisle's jet black eyes narrowed as he glared at Jasper; his jaw tight as he fought hard to control his anger.
"Have you lost your mind, boy?"
AN: Alright, y'all. ...yeah. I did warn that this is darker. We have a VERY unhappy Carlisle so don't look for things to improve very quickly. Thanks so much for the reviews, adds, suggestions...etc. I love to hear what y'all think and it motivates me to at least attempt to write better so please keep 'em coming.