Alice and Jasper walked down the empty sidewalk, their hands interlocked and Alice swung them back and forth, smiling happily at Jasper. "I'm glad that we're coming back," she said quietly, and Jasper nodded his agreement, smiling down at her.

"Does the same person own it?" Jasper asked.

"Yes," Alice started, "but I don't know about everybody else there."

"Ah."

"We're here," Alice declared then, positively beaming now. Jasper pulled open the door for her, and the little bells tinkled. "Thank you."

Jasper nodded, "You're welcome, ma'am," he gave her a small smile and Alice led him over to a booth next to a large window so they could look out at the city.

"That wasn't here," she said quietly, pointing to a building across the street, "it used to be a little park," she continued, "but all in all, Philadelphia is almost the same as it was a year ago."

They both looked up when a waitress approached them then. "What can I get you to start off with?"

"I'll get this table Katie, don't worry," someone said. The waitress looked over to see the cook standing there with a pad of paper and a pencil in his hand, "You go take care of the other customers. Someone else is in the kitchen right now."

The girl nodded hesitantly, "Alright." She left, and Bill turned back to Alice and Jasper, smiling warmly at Alice.

"Coffee—black, right?"

Alice laughed, "Yeah, you right, I'm surprised you remembered, Bill."

"You're not someone easily forgotten. Not to mention that you never seemed to eat anything," he explained, and Alice laughed again. The cook nodded toward Jasper, "This is him, isn't it?"

Alice nodded, looking at Jasper now. "Yes, it is."

"So what can I get for you?"

"Uh," Jasper glanced at Alice, "I guess I'll have the same as her."

"Two black coffees, coming up," Bill said, nodding at Alice again before turning and going back into the kitchen.

"You're close with some of these humans," Jasper noted, "You care for them."

Alice nodded and took Jasper's hand in her own, "Yeah. I was waiting here for three weeks. I would sit here for the entire day, so they would sometimes try to talk with me. I finally started really answering, and we got kind of close. Betty probably got her money's worth from me. At first I would order food, but then they noticed that I never ate it, so Bill stopped giving it to me. He always gave me coffee."

"He likes you," Jasper declared.

Alice scoffed. "No he doesn't," she told Jasper.

"Yes he does," Jasper said, nodding.

"Doesn't."

"Does to."

"Does not."

"Does to."

"Does no—,"

Jasper laughed and cut her off, "Alice, I think I would know a little better than you. Empathetic, remember?"

Alice laughed along with him at the absurdity of their bickering. Bill brought their coffees out and looked at Alice with slight resignation that Jasper wouldn't have recognized if he hadn't been an empath.

"What now?" Alice pretended to huff in annoyance, smiling at Jasper when the cook left.

"He still likes you, but he's decided he doesn't have a chance."

Alice raised an eyebrow. "And how do you know that?" she asked, gripping her coffee cup that was steaming, unaware that that wasn't very human as she leaned closer toward Jasper.

He in return just shrugged. "It's the same way that I used to look at you," he told her, staring into his own cup. Alice frowned, but Jasper ignored this, making a face at the coffee. "How do humans like this? It looks disgusting." he said, lightening the mood even without his strange gift.

Alice giggled and nodded in agreement. "It looks horrible, doesn't it? I poured it into a potted plant once," she said, lowering her voice and motioning toward where the plant used to be, "it was dead when I came the next day."

Jasper wrinkled his nose in disgust, staring at the two full coffees in front of them.

"How about we get them to go, and dump them as soon as we're out the door?" Alice suggested cheerfully.

Jasper just nodded, still staring at the hot drinks, "I swear, it's like it's watching me. Are you sure this coffee is edible, even for a human?"

Alice laughed as she signaled for the bill. "Famous for coffee, they're not."

She got the bill and reached for her purse, but Jasper slid a five dollar bill on the table first, smiling at Alice. "Don't worry, I've got it. A lady should never have to pay."

Alice smiled back at him. "Thank you," she said before turning to the girl, "Can we get those put into to-go cups?" The girl nodded and picked up the two full things of coffee.

"Remind me again why we're taking that disgusting coffee?"

"We need to look human, and those are completely full."

"I think we would look more human if we didn't drink that," he muttered, but the girl brought their coffee back, so he dutifully took his own and stood up while Alice slid out of the booth, picking up her bag.

Jasper pushed open the front door, and the cool wind blew into the diner. Alice glanced back at everyone inside there before walking past Jasper and out into the now raging storm. Jasper followed after her with one stony glance back at all the humans enjoying their time. Alice was...dancing in the rain, Jasper realized with a smile.

That seemed like Alice. He took to long strides to where she was in the empty street after throwing his drink out and swept her up in his arms, pulling her through another complex dance of hers. The storm raged on, probably as hard as on the day they had met.

By the time they had finished their dance, they were both soaked through, hair plastered to their faces. Alice laughed and brushed a lock of Jasper's wet hair out of his eyes as she stood on tiptoe to wrap her arms around his neck.

The rain lessened, but the pair barely noticed this as they stared into each others eyes, breathing in sync. Jasper leaned closer to her and ever so gently pressed his lips against hers. It wasn't a kiss—not really—but her eyes slipped shut as he held her there in his arms in contentment.

Finally, it stopped raining, and they both looked up at the sky before Alice started tugging at Jasper's hand, pulling him after her. The streets were still barren, and the rain washed away the scent of any humans, giving Jasper a break from the relentless hardship.

"Ready to go back to the hotel yet?" Alice asked him quietly.

Jasper hesitated before he shook her head firmly. "No," he decided, "Let's just stay out here for just a while longer."

Alice nodded and slipped her hand into his silently as they continued to walk down the street.

****

Yet another human pushed past Alice, and she tightened her grip on Jasper's arm. "I thought this was supposed to be the city of brotherly love," she huffed under her breath.

Jasper laughed, trying not to think about all of the humans that were surrounding them, unaware that they could very well die in one minute. "I'm sure that that's just a name, darling."

"Yes, but there has to be some foundation to it, right?" Alice pointed out while Jasper just shrugged. Alice sighed and dropped it, instead changing the topic. "So what do you want to do on our last day here in Pennsylvania?"

"Well," Jasper said slyly, smiling down at her, "maybe we could go by Gettysburg, while we're here?"

Alice laughed and grinned at him. "My southern boy," she joked. Jasper smiled adoringly at her, and Alice, her eyes dancing with mirth, finally said, "Only if you where a cowboy hat. Oh! And if you say 'y'all' a lot."

"I bet I could say y'all more than you," Jasper challenged.

Alice smirked and nodded in agreement. "Alright y'all, I accept your challenge. For the rest of the day. Alice: 1, Jasper: 0."

"Darling, y'all never should have challenged a Texan to something like this," Jasper said, smirking at Alice in confidence as his accent became more pronounced, "Y'all are going to back down before I even break a sweat."

"Wait," Alice said suddenly, "isn't 'y'all' short for 'you all?' Wouldn't it be incorrect grammar if you're only talking to one person?" she asked in confusion.

"Sweetheart, we never said anything about it having to be in proper english. Y'all. Alice: 1, Jasper: 3."

Alice stuck her tongue out at Jasper childishly, and Jasper laughed. "Come on, the car's this way, and y'all said something about wanting to go to Gettysburg, right?"

Jasper shook his head at the fact that Alice was talking with no accent, but clearly talking like a Texan with every time she said y'all.

****

All of their joking and teasing was dropped the moment that they arrived in Gettysburg. Jasper walked through the empty field with hard eyes as he looked around silently. Alice stayed a few paces behind him, knowing that at that moment, Jasper needed to do this alone.

He turned and stared past Alice, and Alice whirled around to see what he was looking at. With a quiet step, Jasper grasped Alice's hand in his own tightly, as if he was reassuring himself that he wasn't alone anymore. "One of my men," he started softly, staring into space, "Bobby, I think we called him, he died right here. We were close. Sometimes I wonder if I could have saved him if I had...stayed human. Perhaps he would have been able to go home to his wife. I remember...he always talked about her, and he would say to me, 'One day, you're going to find your girl Jasper, and you'll be tellin' me every little thing about her, just like I am.' I guess he was half-right."

"I'm sorry," Alice murmured.

"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong. If anybody, I would blame Maria for making me become this." he turned and looked at Alice finally, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "On the other hand, I never would have met you."

The somber moment passed, and Alice twirled in his arms to face Jasper, standing to her full height to gently press her lips against his cheek. Jasper still had to lean down, but he didn't mind. With her lips still placed against his cheek, Alice murmured, "I never thought I would, but the next time I see Maria, I might just have to thank her."

Jasper laughed and caught her eye, smiling slightly as he led her away from the battle ground where so many had died. They were just happy to be able to be with one another, unaware of the rest of the surroundings.

As they got back to the car, Alice peered into the back seat where their things were. "Huh," Alice said as she stared at something in particular.

"What?" Jasper asked.

Alice pulled something out of the back and set it down atop Jasper's head, giggling. Jasper shook his head and laughed when he realized what it was.

With a cowboy hat and boots, Jasper was the perfect example for a cowboy.

"I just thought y'all should know," Alice said as she got into the drivers' seat and started the car, "That I'm winning."

"Excuse me?" Jasper asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow, "Y'all must be crazy, because I am two ahead of y'all."

Alice only scoffed, shaking her head. "Twice in the beginning, one in the car, three at the hotel, five on the way here, and one now."

"Two in the beginning, one in the car, three at the hotel, four on the way, and two now."

Alice gasped. "We're tied," she realized.

Jasper hesitated before smirking. "I bet I can use the word buffalo in a sentence more than you—properly, too."

"I once took my buffalo down to Buffalo to get buffalo hide for my buffalo's buffalo-y barn. Hah, beat that. Five," Alice declared, obviously taking his challenge.

"Four," Jasper corrected, "'Buffalo-y' isn't a word."

Alice stuck her tongue out at him. "Still, I bet you can't beat that."

"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo."

Alice blinked. "There is no way that that is proper english, I win by default!" she cried happily.

"Buffalo, New York, Buffalo as in the animal, and buffalo, as in to bully or intimidate. That's eight, I believe, all proper. I win."

Alice gasped in outrage. "That is so unfair. How did you beat me? I am the buffalo-talking champion."

Jasper broke out into loud laughter at Alice's serious expression while her fists tightened on the steering wheel. Her foot pressed down on the gas pedal a little harder than necessary, and Jasper started laughing again even after he had finally calmed down somewhat.

"Looks like I took your title." Jasper finally managed to tell her, smiling confidently. "That's two things I've beat you in."

"We tied!" Alice suddenly burst, throwing him a glance out of the corner of her eye. "And don't you dare try to correct me, Jasper Whitlock, or so help me..."

Jasper bowed his head and pretended to feel remorse before looking at her and saying in a child-like voice, "I'm sorry, Miss Alice, please don't be mad at me." He even sniffed for added effect.

"It's okay," Alice joked, "I forgive you, Mr. Whitlock."

Jasper smiled at Alice, their light teasing now forgotten. They shared a glance that was as intimate as if they had said 'I love you.' With Jasper's extra sense, he knew exactly how Alice felt for him, and with Alice's gift, she knew before he ever had to say anything.

Instead they drove in silence, happy to be together.

Okay, definitely not a favorite chapter for me. Opinions? I was trying to portray Alice's and Jasper's love on a more light level. I mean we all know they've got the whole 'staring into each others' eyes passionately' down, but I just think that they would be able to joke and tease each other, too.

I know, I know, took me a couple weeks to update, yes, I'm really sorry. I have a foreign exchange student staying with me from Australia (which is awesome), but it doesn't give me much time on my computer, and I have been having trouble with writers' block.

Also, and oh, my gosh, I feel really stupid about this, but I realized that Alice references her and Jasper's anniversary. Obviously it takes place some times in March, perhaps April, if I'm pushing it, but that means that, duh, their wedding can't be in July. As soon as I realized this, it wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to go back and change it. They will now be getting married in March, and it is currently the middle of February in my story, give or take a little.

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Feedback is appreciated, Tally.