"You're sure about this?" Jasper drawls, swiftly turning us around a sharp corner. My hand finds its way to grip the side of the seat. I may be nearly invincible, but Jasper's driving alone would be enough to scare God.

"Of course I am." I shoot a lopsided grin at him, hoping that he hasn't yet caught on to how utterly terrified I am to drive with him.

We've driven halfway across Alaska by now, the further we drive, the more my nerves start to play, which is probably why Jasper has asked a dozen times whether I'm sure I know what I'm doing. To be honest, I don't have a clear cut plan in my mind. Winging it seemed like a good idea, until we turned into the town outside of where the Denali clan resides, and I realized I have no clue what I'm going to say.

As I feel myself start to work up, Jasper's knuckles tighten on the wheel, a sense of calm spreading through me as I watch houses pass by us.

"What's it like?" I look over at Jasper, he's been mostly silent the entire ride, something I appreciate greatly. It allowed me time to think, and time to talk without interruption aside from his sparse interjections of agreement.

"What?" he asks quietly, his eyes picking over everything outside the windshield.

"Feeling everything."

He slows the car down at my question, finally driving somewhere near the speed limit, and sucks in a deep breath.

"It's a climate. Sometimes it's a storm, sometimes sunshine, sometimes it's suffocating." He nods, and I wait for him to continue "It's not easy, but being with our family makes it so much easier, I can control it better around them."

I take in his words, carefully mulling them over. It pains me to know that my emotions can affect him so greatly.

"What am I like?" the question tumbles out of my mouth before I can stop it, and when I see the pain flicker across his face I immediately regret it.

"When we first met, I couldn't even think of anything other than the sadness that engulfed you. There were flickers where you felt something close to happiness, but those moments were by so quickly. Then there were times where I swore you felt so empty that you were feeling nothing at all. It was like you were dead." He grimaces.

"You felt all of that, just from me?" I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to escape the car that's suddenly becoming far too small.

"The worst was when I turned you. You were so betrayed, and scared, and I hated myself for what you felt because of me."

We ride in silence after that, my eyes glued to the window like watching is my job. Occasionally I can feel his eyes glance over to me, but they flit back to the road just as quick.

I keep my silence until we pull onto the old street. Big evergreens frame the houses and poke out from the woods behind my old house.

"I walked home that night." I whisper, and Jasper's eyes glance over at me, the car rolling to a stop.

I watch the scene around me out the window, snow swirls in the last hours of daylight. Everything is so familiar, yet seems so distant and daunting in front of me.

"I wasn't even supposed to be at the house. He was just going to murder my family, and then take me away, but I tried to stop him. I don't know what would have happened had I ran."

"Calina, we don't have to do this." Jasper pleads, reaching over to grab my hand. Our connection seems to give me the strength to finish.

"I run. I run from everything. I ran when Allison came to take care of me, I ran from you, I ran from my friends, but I didn't run that night. And for the longest time, I didn't know why I took him on and stayed, but now I know." I look to Jasper, love pouring off of me as I take in his handsome features. I know he can feel it.

His eyes close, and then snap open.

"It was you." I finish "I didn't run, because I had to stay to meet you."

Looking at him, I know that far beyond whoever made us to care for each other so instantly, I love Jasper Hale.

"I love you." I whisper, a smile gracing my face. As I watch, his hard expression cracks, and then happiness seeps through.

"Darlin', I have loved you since forever." He grins, and tugs me forward.

I let out a squeal as he effortlessly pulls me over the console until I'm straddling him. His lips meet mine hastily, hungrily even, and I flourish under his spontaneity. I'm lost in him when I bump the wheel behind me.

The loud beep of the horn startles us both, and a fit of giggles escapes me nervously. Soon he is chuckling along with me, a glimpse of how charming he truly can be playing before my eyes.

"I talked about emotional climates earlier," Jasper stops laughing abruptly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear "You're the climate I enjoy most." He whispers, his thumb running gently across my cheek.

I smile down at him, wanting nothing more than to just freeze this moment, and live in it forever, but I know we cannot.

"You're my favorite person."

He lights up at my words, effortlessly making the moment ever the more brilliant.

"We have to go now." I sigh, opening the driver's side door so that I can climb off his lap "you'll stay with me, no matter what?"

"Always." He nods, looking so serious I swear he could be commanding a battle in his mind.

Our shoes crunch under the ice and gravel that coats the roads of the tiny town. With twilight fast approaching, the house has begun to be shrouded in darkness. A few lights shine out onto the expanse of lawn as we cross it swiftly. I'm anxious to get inside, and out of the views of nosey neighbors.

Bending down to the rug, I pull it aside, grabbing our spare key out from under it. Old habits die hard, I suppose. With a bit of jimmying, and Jasper offering to break down the door when I can't open it on the first try, the door springs open.

Soft music floats through the house from the stereo in the kitchen, and the dryer runs from the laundry room upstairs. Everything seems so foreign, yet so familiar. I can hear Allison's heartbeat from afar, she's no doubt sitting on the back porch, watching the forest while she sips peppermint tea like her life depends on it. Knowing her she has work on her lap, and a highlighter in her right hand, going through the report with the meticulous eye she's always had.

I motion to Jasper to follow me, taking his hand when my nerves get the best of me. If I could be sick, I surely would be right on the rug my mother put over a huge paint stain on the hardwood when I was thirteen.

Jasper takes in the house around him like it's his first time, even though he's been here many times before. His posture has returned to being rigid, and I don't have to be an empath to know that he's just as nervous as I am.

"She's outside in the solar room." I whisper, nodding to the kitchen where the door to the outside room stands.

"No, I'm right here." Allison's voice spooks me so bad that I nearly jump out of my skin, Jasper's eyes widen larger than I've ever seen them. She obviously scared him as bad as me.

Surprised that neither of us heard her approach, I fumble over my words, finally just landing on a small "hey."

She looks at me incredulously, watching me with eyes like a hawk, which makes forming a sentence a thousand times harder. Thankfully, or not so thankfully, she saves me.

"Jesus, Calina. You've been gone nearly a year, and you show up with this boy, and just say 'hey' like everything's normal."

I flinch under her stare, Jasper being of absolutely no help as he just watches her with those same damn wide eyes.

"Allison, we need to sit down." I mumble, glad that she catches on, and motions me into the living room wordlessly.

"She may be putting up an angry front, but she's ecstatic." Jasper whispers so lowly that I barely catch it as I follow her.

I just nod in response, sitting on the loveseat opposite Allison. Jasper sits down next to me, his hand finding mine discreetly as Allison watches both of us, waiting for an explanation.

"Alli, I have so much to tell you, but before we begin, I want you to know that running away wasn't exactly my choice, or my plan." I glance at Jasper, and he shifts uncomfortably as her glare turns onto him.

I laugh anxiously, and shake my head at Allison.

"No, it wasn't like that either. You need to keep an open mind through what I'm about to tell you." I sigh, and Jasper squeezes my hand.

Allison nods her head vigorously, despite my reassurance, her glare still rests on Jasper when she leans back in the chair again.

"In the days leading up to my disappearance, I got worse, Allison. I know that Dr. Cullen told you that I was able to come home, and was resting while you were in Miami, but I wasn't."

"How can that be, I saw you at home, Kate called from the phone and said that you were good as new, she was watching you before you disappeared." Allison sounds exacerbated, and we haven't even begun to reach the thick of anything yet.

In a rash and somewhat reckless moment of complete weakness, I look at my sister, and blurt out the answer she's craving.

"I died."

The look on her face is rather priceless. Her eyes dart between Jasper and I, I stay out of her head, knowing that whatever she's thinking isn't what I want to hear.

"I've read about this Calina, is this Stockholm disease, because if they're making you say this, I can get you out, I know that I can." She rushes out, the glare returning in Jasper's direction tenfold.

"First, it's Stockholm Syndrome, not disease." I correct her, instantly feeling bad when it slips out automatically "Second, Allison, I did die, and he brought me back." I nod towards Jasper.

"Brought you back, how?" she asks slowly, her eyes fill with skepticism.

"That isn't important, I'm the same as I used to be, just with a few alterations." I explain, hopeful that she will listen to me.

"Alterations?" she questions, and I sigh.

"How about we make you dinner, and we can talk more over it." I manage to side track her with food, something that has always worked, and I stand, Jasper mirroring my movements quickly.

Allison stands automatically with us, following me swiftly like she's afraid I will disappear again. The pain of the thought of what is to come is crippling, but closure is something that we both will need to move forward.

Jasper must sense the pain because he gives me a reassuring nudge on the hip, trying to shoot me a smile. I know he wants desperately to control the mood around him so that neither Allison or I feel pain, but he made a vow to me to let my emotions run free while here.

Allison is frozen in a kitchen chair as Jasper and I busy ourselves with making her pasta. We move like one, silent, but speaking in different ways. I know it must be shocking for her to see us so in synch, and in love, but she says nothing of it.

"Where have you been?" Allison finally asks, her tone more timid than angry.

"I spent the first few months in Jared's uncle's cabin." I pause, making eye contact with Jasper "But now we reside in Washington, it's where I'll be finishing school."

"You were so close." She murmurs, eyes filling with tears.

"Allison, we aren't even supposed to be here now. It's dangerous for you to be near me, and it was even more back when I first left." I sigh, looking back at her.

"Dangerous, how?" she gasps, looking between Jasper and I frantically like he may take the knife he's cutting vegetables with and stab us both.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell you that." I whisper, wishing that I could just tell her and get it off my chest.

"You were so close." She repeats, a strangled sob coming out of her mouth "and I, I didn't know. I could have helped you, I still can. Whatever you've done, it doesn't matter anymore, what matters is that you're here now, and I'll help you fight whatever it is. We can get a doctor, or a lawyer, or a therapist. Whatever you need." She rambles through tears and sniffles.

"I'm so sorry. I left, but I was never truly gone." My face contorts, and if I could cry, I would "I never stopped loving you, or caring for you. I visited you more times than I can count. I just couldn't put you or my family in harm's way." I kneel in front of her, taking her hands into my own.

My throat burns, and I swallow trying to suppress it, but the way her pulse thrums under my hands is overwhelming. My hunger is overbearing, so I let go quickly, shooting myself across the room so that I'm as far away from her as possible.

Her eyes widen in shock, and her hands flutter to her chest where her heart is making enough racket to bust right out of her chest.

"What-what are you?" she stumbles over her words, fear evident in her eyes. Jasper freezes, not moving a muscle as he listens for what is to come next.

"Please, don't be afraid of me, Allison." I plead, anxiously grasping at the counter I rest against.

The room is silent for what feels like forever, and I fear the worst.

"I'm not." She finally boldly reassures me, but her frantically beating heart says different. I ignore the heart and focus on hoping that she truly isn't.

"What I am," I pause, looking at Jasper who nods encouraging me silently "We are." I continue "It's too dangerous for a human, but I couldn't stand to not say goodbye to you, Allison." I sigh.

Her face contorts into grief.

"Goodbye?" she gasps incredulously looking at me like I've committed a crime far worse than murder.

"Yes, Allicat, goodbye." I whisper, flinching when her nickname slips easily out of my mouth.

"But I just got you, everyone, everyone is gone." She mutters more to herself than me, and I feel my heart break.

Behind us the timer for the pasta goes off, and Jasper rushes to stop its shrill scream. Allison is completely unbothered by it, she's lost in her mind.

"I have nothing, Calina, no one. You're the last person I love, and you're leaving me." She cries, flinging herself towards me and grasping my wrists like they're anchoring her to this moment.

"Do you remember what mom used to say, after Grandma Dee died?" I ask, smoothing back my sister's hair, waiting for her brown eyes to meet my golden ones.

"She said that no matter what we did, she would always be there." Allison hiccups, looking down and away from me.

"Our guardian angel." I nod, offering her a small smile.

"I don't understand why you have to leave me, what if I'm alone forever?" in this moment I see just how broken she is, and how broken she has become since I left. In a way, our roles have reversed, she may be elder, but the sadness has left her a blubbering mess.

"You won't be, I will make sure of it." I whisper, pulling her to her feet.

"I love you, little sister." She sniffs, wrapping her arms around my shoulder.

Her heartbeat doesn't bother me as I pull her incredibly tight to me, relishing in the comfort that is my older sister for what must be the last time.

"You've been the greatest thing to ever happen to me. Thank you for never giving up on me." I whisper in her ear, and she lets out a loud sob.

"What happens now?" she chokes out as we pull away.

"I have to make you forget."

Her eyes brim with more tears, and she looks at me like she can't believe that I will go through with it.

"I won't, I won't forget." She pleads with me "I will never forget this, no matter what you do." She looks at me wildly as though she's hoping I will confirm her wants.

"I'm so sorry, I love you, Allison." I grasp her hand tightly.

"I love you." She sighs, squeezing my cold hand.

I look at her, taking in her sweet face, and the way she looks like the air has been sucked out of her taking her life with it as well. She's aged since I last saw her, tired bags rest under heavy lidded eyes. I long to fix her. With a sick heart, I begin to dig into her mind, like I have practiced with Jasper, and grab ahold of the reigns.

"You're going to fall asleep now, and not wake up until the night is old." I pause to collect myself "None of this was truth, you dreamed that I came to you tonight. I am dead, lost to the snow, and you will stop looking, stop wasting away, stop worrying. You'll move on, as soon as you wake, but you'll always know that I love you so incredibly much." I envision her future, giving my commands, and the brown eyes that have been locked to mine fade slowly shut.

Allison slumps to the ground, and I catch her in my arms. A tearless sob escapes my mouth, strangled and loud, but she doesn't even flinch.

Jasper catches the both of us, scooping Allison up and taking her to the couch where he covers her with a blanket before coming back to my side, and wrapping me up in strong arms.

"I'm no longer a Laraunt." I gasp, leaning into Jasper.

"You'll always be a Laraunt, at heart, even if you become a Cullen." Jasper soothes me, helping me to my feet.

"My old life is gone." I muse as we walk slowly through the house, silent as ever.

"It is." He agrees, holding the front door open for me like the gentleman he is "But your new life, a life with me is just beginning."

The thought of my new life dampens my sadness, and I offer him a small smile.

"Jas." I murmur, grasping his hand as we walk down the drive to his car.

"Yes, darling?"

"Let's get married."

Let me know what you're thinking, the good, the bad, the sad. I'd love to hear from you, even if it's just a hello!