Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own 'em.

Chapter 3: Back Home

"I suggest we head back now, Jasper," Rosalie said, her voice authoritative.

"I'd rather not," Jasper answered. Was he a coward for saying this? He was afraid to return home but more than anything he was ashamed. He could get over Edward's condescending looks and Emmett's taunting but Alice...she would be disappointed in him. Could he face that?

'I just have to get myself together that's all,' he thought. 'I'll go when I want to.' But the truth was, he doubted he could make himself go at all.

While he was ruminating over his own fate, Rosalie stood beside him, looking down at his hunched form. She, herself, wasn't sure if bringing him back was the best for anyone right now. Carlisle was compassionate enough; he would treat Jasper fairly but she wondered if the rest were so inclined to be kind right now. Especially Edward.

Admittedly, she too had been angry when he walked out that afternoon. She had been the first to stand up and go after him but Alice had stopped her before she too made a scene. Instead, they decided to bail Jasper out and make up some sort of excuse. They collectively agreed, that Jasper had returned home, feeling too sick. Possibly food poisoning, they then would say.

Not that their excuses mattered. Those who finally asked, never questioned them afterwards despite the suspicious and flimsy story. But it didn't mean people wouldn't talk. The human girl was told to swear to keep silent about it all. Frightened, she could do nothing but agree. But just in case, Rosalie demanded Edward to kept a close eye on her. After classes, Edward had taken her straight home and stayed with her. In fact, Rosalie was certain, he was still with her.

This left Alice, Emmett, and herself to go looking for their lost brother. Alice had gone off on her own, declaring she would find him. She knew him the most. How hard it could it be? But apparently she didn't know her husband well enough. It had been hours since they had decided to give up searching. Alice was convinced that Jasper would return sometime and Emmett was more inclined to think that he had finally snapped and was somewhere in Oregon now feasting to his heart's content.

Around eleven, Rosalie had quietly slipped out of the house as Alice and Emmett bickered with Esme trying to calm them down, while Carlisle was locked away in his private study, awaiting the time Jasper decided to come back to them. She grew tired of the passivity of her family that she felt compelled to go out again to the place where she knew Jasper would be. She hadn't told the others. She hadn't told Alice or Emmett while they had been searching and she wasn't going to tell them now. She didn't know why but she didn't. Now she was standing there and she wondered if what she was going to do was the right thing.

Roughly, she took her brother by the lapels of his once pristine white jacket and hauled him up onto his feet. Jasper did not try to resist. He stood before her haggard and pitiful, his hair and clothes were still wet from the rain. It both surprised her and disgusted her. She still clung to him, her hands seemed like the only things hold him up. Angrily, she shook him, hissing, "Do you know how much trouble you've gotten yourself into? We thought you might have..."

Jasper's eyes narrowed. He yanked himself from her grasp and glared at her. "Might have what, Rosalie? That I might have gone on a murderous streak? Don't you trust me at all?"

"After your little scene, can we trust you?" she bit back.

He turned away from her, his voice small and pleading as he said, "I'd rather not think about it. It was a mistake, I know! But..can't you just leave me alone for now?"

Rosalie let out harsh sigh and closed her eyes. "Don't you get it? The family thinks you've done something and everyone at school is talking about us! If you hadn't been so reckless. Had you been more in control of you emotions..."

"Do you think I haven't tried? That girl is a nuisance! A thorn at my side and every damn day I have to put up with her..." His words floated in her mind and Rosalie could practically taste the bitterness in his voice, his anger swelling as he continued,"Edward knows about what I have to go through! Maybe more than Alice even. Yet he does not care to do anything! He flaunts her in my presence and doesn't even think to guard that precious pet of his. Rosalie, I don't think I can bear it much longer."

His last words were so sad, Rosalie couldn't help but look at him with pity. For the first time, she wanted to hold her so called brother and reassure him that everything would be alright in the end but her body did not agree with her. Instead she said matter-of-factly, "I don't agree with it either but at the moment we can do nothing. Carlisle allows it."

She winced as the truth spilled from her mouth and she could visibly see the pained look on his face. He ran his hands through his matted hair and looked back at her. His eyes scared her then. They were so full of hate and anger but then he moved closer and the look on his face changed dramatically. From anger they had dissolved back to that defeated look he had awhile ago. With a cynical laugh he added, "And Edward has seniority, of course."

He took her by the hand and led her away from the tree, the cliff, and the dark sea below. "Let's go back," he finally said. There was no conviction in his voice. She could feel his hand shaking around hers.

Squeezing it, she replied softly, "Okay."

The ride back to the Cullen home could not have been more uncomfortable. Neither vampire was talking. What had happened at the cliff site was a miracle in some ways. Both were surprised with the exchange and now felt suddenly foolish for their actions, Jasper especially. Never had he talked to anyone in that way, not even to his wife. Fifty odd years he had schooled himself to be what he was now – silent, reticent, his emotions never going beyond aloof and uncaring.

Rosalie was nervous. She wasn't sure why she was helping Jasper. It wasn't in her nature. Yesterday, she had been curious. Curiosity, boredom, whatever it was, was what led her to Jasper's secret place. She had meant to tease him a bit, annoy him, garner some sort of satisfaction and amusement to see him aggravated, but she never expected to see such a lonely person when she got there.

'He owes me,' she thought as she sped through the deserted stretch of rain-slick road. The thought made her slightly better. She didn't want to admit that she actually felt sympathy for her adoptive brother.

Jasper tore his eyes away from the road and looked at Rosalie, his brow scrunched up. He was quite confounded by her actions. "Why are you helping me?" he asked quietly.

He could sense her raging emotions just as if they were his own – the anger, the hate, the confusion, and the pity. He was anxious to know if all of these were because of him or was there some ulterior motive? It wouldn't be a surprise if this was just a way to get back at someone or to get something in return. Deep down inside, Jasper hoped that it was just that and not because she pitied him.

"I don't know," she replied, her voice harsh but low. She took a moment to look him in the face, her eyes wild with confusion as well. "Just be grateful I am."

Jasper glanced at his watched and grimaced. It was almost two in the morning. He noticed then that Rosalie's driving was significantly slower than her normal reckless driving. What was she doing? Was she buying him time? Or was she just as scared as he was? Maybe if he asked her...asked her to take him somewhere else?

'And Alice?' He shook his head vigorously, buried his face in his hands, and then let out a low frustrated growl. The sound surprised Rosalie and the car screeched to a halt.

"What?" she demanded.

"Nothing. Keep driving."

With a frustrated sigh, Rosalie revved up the car again. "We're almost there. It's going to be over soon."

Jasper gave her a weak smile, "If that was meant to comfort me, I don't think it worked."

After another mile or so, the house finally came into view not that there was much to see with all the trees blocking the actual house. Jasper secretly hated it. He did not understand the need for such a frivolous piece of architecture. He was a practical and simple man before he became a vampire and had not change since then. Admittedly, he had been in awe of the Cullen lifestyle – the diet, the luxuriousness, the comfort, the security, the ability to do anything and everything they wanted except one day, he woke up realizing that despite it all, it did not make him truly happy.

Rosalie drove up to the big entrance of the house and parked there. As she was getting out of the car, she noticed that Jasper hadn't moved an inch. She placed a tentative hand on his shoulder and Jasper who had been caught up in his thoughts, jolted back to reality. "We're here," she said.

"Right," he answered, glancing at her sheepishly before getting out of the car as well. The two of them walked up the few steps to the large porch and opened the door to find Edward, Alice, Emmett, and Esme standing behind it. None of them looked at all glad to see either of them. Carlisle was suspiciously but not surprisingly not amongst them. Jasper stiffened. He knew that the older vampire was waiting for him in his study.

Edward was the first to step forward and stood right in front of Jasper, his dark eyes hard. "So, the Prodigal Son has returned."

A/n: So yeah, this is obviously not the end of this mini-series. I'm hoping that it won't go over five chapters but I imagine there are three more "scenes" left. Tell me what you think of this chapter, please! I'm not so sure if I'm all that satisfied with it. Thanks! :)