"Jasper?"

Jasper looked up from the book he was reading to glance at Alice, who was curled up on the couch above him. "Hm?"

"What are we getting Marilyn for her birthday?" Alice asked, setting down the picture she had just been working on.

"Um," Jasper set his book down and pursed his lips, thinking about it. "I don't know. What do seven year olds like, anyway?"

Alice set her drawing pad on the coffee table, and Jasper peered at it out of the corner of his eye. "Maybe a new doll or something?" she suggested, staring off into space a few seconds later to try and see what they could get her.

Jasper was to busy staring at the picture she had been drawing. "Is that me?" he asked softly, pointing at it.

Alice blinked, coming out of her vision, and looked at where Jasper was pointing. "Huh? Oh, yes, it is."

Jasper gingerly picked the drawing up to look at the picture better. She had been drawing him at an angle, reading his book intently and leaning back against the couch, just as he had been doing. There was a soft smile playing at his lips in the drawing, his eyes scrunched slight in concentration. Jasper marveled at how well she had drawn him. "This is amazing," he told her honestly, and Alice looked away in embarrassment.

"Oh, that was just a quick little sketch. It's really nothing compared to some of the other things I've done," she murmured modestly.

"May I?" he asked, starting to flip the page up. Alice nodded, and Jasper turned the page the rest of the way to look at the picture. Quietly, he flipped through the rest of her notebook, silently appraising them. "I always knew you could draw, but Alice, this is amazing."

Alice beamed at the high praise, though she looked away to hide it. "I've been drawing since I was first...changed. I was rather horrible, though, in the beginning."

Jasper's eyes lit up. "Do you have any of your older drawings?"

"Yeah, I think so. Would you like to see them?"

"May I?"

"Sure!" Alice jumped up and danced gracefully to the bedroom, coming back a few minutes later with a small box. "I kept everything. Well, I think I did, anyway."

She handed him the box, and Jasper carefully opened it, sifting through all the papers. There were napkins, the edges of newspapers, and the occasional white paper. He smiled slightly and glanced up at Alice. "You've got quite a collection," he joked and continued to look through it all. When he was finally finished, Jasper set the box down on the table and then looked back at Alice. "I noticed that it was a lot of designs. Clothes and the like. Did you ever make any?"

Alice shook her head sadly. "No."

"I think you should someday," he told her, and Alice smiled slightly. "There was also a lot of myself, I notice," he continued on in a softer tone.

Jasper had a feeling that if she had been human, she would've blushed. "Sometimes, I would get a vision of you after a long time of not seeing you, and I would grab the closest piece of paper I had and pull out a pen or pencil or whatever I had handy and draw," she admitted.

"They're amazing," he complimented again.

Alice laughed in embarrassment and gathered up her box of drawings to take back into the bedroom. "Alright, enough of flattering Alice, we need to get back on track. Marilyn's birthday is in two days and we need to get her a birthday present. So...what should we get her?"

"I haven't gotten a child a present since I was twelve years old, and it was my little sister's fifth birthday, and I don't think Marilyn would want a new ribbon and bonnet, so I can't give you very good advice."

Alice laughed from the other room as she came back into his view. "Well you won't be much help. You're still coming to the toy store, though. We'll ask somebody there," she told him as she grabbed her purse.

"We're going now?" Jasper asked, surprised.

"Of course. I get the feeling this is going to take a while." Alice laughed, and Jasper just shrugged, getting up off the floor and dusting off his pants, grabbing his wallet and following an already prepared Alice, out the door.

****

"Happy birthday!"

"You came!" Marilyn ran up to Alice and Jasper standing in the doorway, giving each of them a hug.

"Of course we did," Alice told her, crouching down next to the girl. "We wouldn't miss your party for the world." Alice glanced back up at Jasper cautiously. She trusted him, but she knew that with so many people here, it was going to be hard, even if they had just hunted that day. He looked to be doing fine though, and Alice had a feeling that he wasn't actually breathing right then.

Satisfied, she turned back to Marilyn and handed the child her present. "Here you go, sweetheart," she told her, patting her on the head and standing back up. Marilyn squealed and clutched the present to her chest, turning and running back into the house to most likely find her mother.

Hastily, she turned around quickly to give them a rushed, "Thank you," before hurrying off again. Alice giggled quietly and Jasper smiled slightly.

It had taken them hours to find the right gift, but after much reassurance from the salesman, they had finally gotten her a baby doll and a small bassinet that they had brought over earlier to hide from the girl.

"Come on Jasper," Alice encouraged, leading him farther into the house. "We still have to say hello to Clara. John and Tommy should be around here too..."

****

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Marilyn, happy birthday to you..."

Marilyn clapped her hands in delight and closed her eyes tight, blowing out her candles in excitement. Alice took a picture with her camera, smiling with just as much excitement as Marilyn probably was.

"Who wants cake?" Clara called to the crowd. Alice wrinkled her noses automatically and tugged on Jasper's hand, pulling him out into the less crowded living room.

"Just a little longer, is that alright?" Alice answered his unspoken question, taking in his black eyes. "Marilyn is opening her presents soon, we'll leave right after that."

Jasper nodded and rested his head against the crook of her shoulder blade, breathing her scent in deeply. Alice gently ran her hand through his hair and smiled softly. "It's hard being around so many people. I'm not...used to it," he told her.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. You've been doing great, and we've been here for two hours. I definitely think you're improving," she murmured to him.

Jasper smiled slightly and pressed his lips against her collarbone. "Thank you," he whispered.

Alice just smiled and took his hand, pulling him back into the kitchen when he was ready. Clara had finished handing out the pieces of cake, and Marilyn had already started on her small pile of presents. She had so far gotten a puzzle and a pair of pajamas, and was now ripping open the present Alice and Jasper had gotten her.

As soon as she opened the box and saw the doll, Marilyn tugged it out and hugged the doll to her chest tightly, looking up at Alice and Jasper from her perch on the kitchen counter. "Thank you!" she cried happily, staring down at her new gift.

"What are you going to name her?" Alice asked, smiling brightly now that she knew Marilyn liked her toy.

"Hm...I don't know. Mommy, what should I name her?"

"I don't know Mary, why don't you name her later though, alright?" Clara suggested as she looked at all the other guests and children who were getting impatient to have Marilyn open the gift they had gotten her.

"Alright. Thank you Alice, Jasper," Alice smiled again, as did Jasper, and her ruffled her hair slightly as Marilyn dropped the paper and box used to wrap her gift from them, keeping hold on her new doll even as she opened her next present.

Marilyn stared at the toy car in front of her blankly, as if she were trying to figure out how or why she would play with it.

An older woman stepped forward and carefully took the present from Marilyn, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry hun," she told her, pulling a different present out of her bag. "That's my nephew's present. I got a party to go to for him tomorrow. That's yours."

Marilyn started tearing through the paper as Alice and Jasper said their goodbyes to Clara, and then quickly to John and Tommy. As they wandered out of the kitchen, they both heard Marilyn's squeal of delight at whatever she had opened, and Alice smiled, skipping lightly to the door with Jasper in tow.

"I wonder what she'll say when she gets the rest of our present," Alice mused as they quietly walked back to their apartment.

Jasper shrugged, more relaxed now that the humans' scent wasn't as overpowering. "I'm sure we'll be able to hear her. We're right next door," he said as he unlocked the front door.

"Do you want to go hunting now? I know that sometimes it helps after being in a large crowd."

Jasper hesitated. On the one hand, his throat was bothering him, but on the other hand, the fear that Alice might see him as weak was prominent in his thoughts.

"Alright," he agreed, reminding himself as he had before and probably would for a long time to come, that she wouldn't see that as weakness.

Alice touched his arm lightly and nodded, silently saying to him that it wasn't a weakness, 'saying' it in that way of hers, as if she could read minds. But of course, from what she said at least, that would've been Edward. "How hard was it today?" she asked him quietly.

Jasper thought about that for a moment. "Excruciating," he finally told her honestly.

"But you didn't bite anyone," Alice pointed out.

"Yeah," Jasper said, laughing and scoffing at the same time, if that was possible, "I didn't bite anyone, that's always a plus."

"No I mean it," Alice insisted. "Everyday that you don't have a humans' blood, the stronger you become. You may not think so, but it's true."

Jasper stayed silent. Alice may have believed that, but he wasn't so sure. Albeit, he hadn't abstained for very long, but he still felt the same burning desire for humans' blood that he felt when he first walked into the diner more than a year ago. "Okay Alice," Jasper sighed, not wanting to argue the point right then.

"Come on then," Alice said, changing the topic and taking his hand, "We'll go now and hunt, and come back later." She pulled him back out the door and down to the lobby, happy but calm.

They hunted quickly, not needing much because they had already gone earlier that day. By the time they came back though, most people had already left Marilyn's birthday party.

"Do you think it's over?" Alice asked Jasper as they entered their apartment for the second time that day.

"More than likely. Why?"

"Well I was thinking we could go over one more time to see how Marilyn liked her present. But only if you're up to it."

Jasper shrugged, not really minding. "Let's just wait a little while, we'll go when we're sure nobody else is there, okay?"

"Great." Alice agreed, looking fleetingly at the door before going farther into the apartment.

Eventually, they both ended up on the couch, where Alice was sitting as she ran her fingers through Jasper's hair and he laid his head in her lap. She smiled softly and brushed a few stray pieces out of his eyes and Jasper sighed in contentment. "The emotional climate is...preferable right now. Your happiness and Marilyn's giddiness, which I can feel even over here, it's wonderful," he sighed again, "As if pain doesn't—can't exist."

Alice smiled softly, happy that Jasper was content. They stayed like that for a little while longer before Jasper grudgingly pulled himself up and looked at Alice once more, running his fingertips across her cheek. "Do you still want to go visit them?"

Alice nodded, and Jasper smiled softly. He had known the answer before the question had ever been asked, but he still enjoyed the way her eyes would light up. He knew that even more than fashion, or shopping, or any of her other hobbies, Alice loved to make others happy.

"Alright, let's go then," he agreed, pulling himself up off the couch and offering her his hand. Alice took it delicately, and Jasper led her to the door. Hesitating only fractionally, Jasper inhaled one more time before he ceased breathing and stepped out of the apartment with Alice into the hallway that was still suffocatingly full of all the humans' mingling scents.

Alice skipped forward and knocked on Clara's door swiftly, her eyes glazing over briefly before she smiled mysteriously. The door swung open, and Jasper suddenly found a soft, warm, small body colliding with his own.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Marilyn squealed, letting go of Jasper to smile at him before turning and giving Alice a hug, too.

Jasper smiled softly and Alice laughed at Marilyn's happy reaction, though Jasper knew that she had already seen it happen. "I see you liked your present," Alice teased the little girl lightly.

Marilyn nodded in excitement and grabbed Alice's hand to lead her into the apartment, motioning for Jasper to follow. "I named her Missy," Marilyn explained to them as she led Alice and Jasper into the living room, where the crib, with the doll inside, was standing in the center.

"Missy?" Alice asked, glancing to where the doll was lying, as if the toy was vastly interesting. "That's a pretty name."

Marilyn nodded in agreement and picked her toy up out of the small crib, cradling the doll to her chest like it was a real child. "Doesn't she look like a Missy?"

Alice nodded seriously, but Jasper felt her amusement. "She does. Don't you agree, Jasper?"

Jasper glanced from Alice to Marilyn, nodding. "Oh, uh, yeah, she does," he agreed, not quite sure what to say.

Clara came in from the kitchen, hearing Alice and Jasper in the living room. She was wiping her hands on a cloth towel, her hair pulled back in a small bun as a few strands fell out. "Hi," she greeted them, pushing a lock of hair back and out of her face. "I see you two came back."

Alice smiled and stood up from where she had been crouching next to the cradle and walked over to Clara while Jasper stayed back with Marilyn, watching quietly as she played with her dolly. "I told you we would," she reminded Clara. "We just wanted to see how Marilyn like the rest of her present."

"I love it!" Marilyn cried from where she was sitting on the floor, still holding the doll as she listened to Clara and Alice. She quickly grew bored of their conversation, though, and somehow managed to get Jasper to play with her and 'Missy.'

Clara and Alice laughed, while Jasper just smiled, looking down at the child with adoration.

"So what have you been up to lately? we haven't really gotten time to talk lately, what with planning the party, and having all the guests here."

Alice flashed her a grin easily. "Oh, nothing really. What about you?"

"John and I took Marilyn and Tommy to a carnival on Saturday. There's one up in Virginia now, did you know that?"

Alice shook her head, and Jasper just looked up briefly before going back to getting his hair braided, the doll lay forgotten as Marilyn pulled and tugged at his curly hair.

Alice giggled and the two women watched quietly as Marilyn continued to work on Jasper's hair. When she was finally done, Jasper reached to tug the hair tie out of his hair, only to have Marilyn demand that he not take it out.

Laughing full out now, Alice took Jasper's hand and helped him stand up before turning to look at Marilyn, who was smiling innocently at her. "I think we need to go now, sweetheart, but don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't take his braid out."

Marilyn smiled and nodded, turning now to look at her mother. "Mommy, can I stay up late tonight?"

Clara's eyes danced as she walked Alice and Jasper to the door. "Of course you can honey," she told the girl, turning to whisper to Alice and Jasper, "She'll be out ten minutes past her bedtime."

Alice laughed quietly as Clara opened the door for them. "I'll see you guys soon, alright?"

"Definitely," Alice agreed, as she and Jasper stepped out into the hallway.

As soon as the door was closed, Jasper ripped the hair tie out, running his fingers through his hair to get the plait undone.

"Last time I get my hair braided," he told Alice as they entered their own apartment.

"Yeah," Alice agreed solemnly, "the braid just wasn't working for you."

Jasper growled playfully and scooped her up, carrying Alice to their bedroom bridal style, firmly dumping her on the bed and closing the door behind him.

****

Okay, who else noticed the dominant theme of children in the past few chapters? Yeah, that might have something to do with the fact that I've been working on another AlicexJasper fic where Jasper has a daughter...I've been thinking about posting it when I finish up this story. So, thanks for waiting, and if you spot any errors in the story, just let me know. I edited it, but I doubt I caught everything.

This chapter is dedicated to John Cullen, I hope you like this chapter, and thanks for all the reviews! And to everybody else that reviewed, you guys are wonderful, too.

Have a nice rest of the week, reviews are much appreciated!