Jasper

We pulled in to the familiar driveway. The drive was pleasant despite the falling snow. We had made a few pit stops for gas and some for fucking each other in the passenger seat, and the back seat, and the bed of the truck and once on the hood. Thinking about it, it was actually a fucking fantastic drive rather than just pleasant. Ivy was a real wildcat.

We walked hand in hand to the house. Just as we reached the door, Carlisle pulled it open.

"Welcome back," he greeted warmly and I glanced at Ivy, hoping she didn't still find my adopted father sexy.

"Hi Carlisle," Ivy smiled back and I sensed no lust for him. I was unreasonably relieved.

She continued on to the living room while I gave Carlisle a one-armed hug. I went to stand at Ivy's side while she was saying hello to everyone assembled there.

"Ivy! You look hot!" Emmett boomed.

"Thanks, Em. You're okay I guess," she shrugged noncommittally. I felt her humour and she laughed at the mock-wounded look on his face.

"Bella! You look great!" Ivy told her. I nodded my agreement. I hadn't really looked at her when I arrived at the clearing, my focus had been on finding Ivy. I had seen her after her change but she looked far more at ease since then.

"Are you my Uncle Jasper?" Renesmee's soprano called as she ran over.

"I am. It's nice to meet you, little lady," I crouched down to her level. I left before Bella gave birth and my niece seemed sweet.

She hugged me around the waist, surprising me. I hugged her back.

"Who's this?" she asked, looking at Ivy.

"This is Ivy, the love of my life," I told her, picking her up and carrying her over to meet my mate.

"Hello Renesmee," Ivy greeted her.

Renesmee stuck out her hand to touch Ivy's face and I saw my mate's eyes go wide as my niece used her gift to say hello.

"Wow," Ivy breathed when Renesmee pulled away. "That's so cool!" she told my proud niece.

Bella and Edward both looked proud themselves.

"So can your Dad read your mind?" Ivy asked the girl.

"Yeah, and it's really not cool," she shrugged, probably used to it by now. Ivy laughed and patted her on the head.

"Just think of weird things when he's around. It works for me," Ivy grinned, clearly thinking about our claiming of each other. I was also reliving it just to piss Edward off. He groaned and grimaced, looking incredibly tense as our onslaught of memories kept coming.

Ivy and I took mercy on him eventually and I thought about something far more mundane. He slumped over on Bella's shoulder on the couch and she patted his head, smiling.

"Em and I do that to him too," Rosalie said, coming to stand beside Ivy. Ivy turned to her and they shared a hug.

"Ivy, could I persuade you to take a walk with me?" Rose asked.

"Of course! I've missed you!" Ivy agreed and they headed outside through the backyard. I was sure Rose would be telling her story to my mate of being changed against her will. They had that in common.

I let out a grunt when I felt the pull in my chest. I hadn't been more than a few feet away from her since we saw each other at the clearing.

"Don't worry, it gets easier in time," Esme smiled softly at me as I rubbed the ache in my chest.

"Does it ever go away?" I asked her.

"I'm afraid not," her smile was full of sympathy.

Emmett was quick to challenge me to the new MLB video game, knowing I needed a distraction. I was very nearly ready to run after Ivy, tackle her to the ground and fuck her like there was no tomorrow.

"Seriously, Jasper?!" Edward barked.

"Give me a break, Edward. I just claimed my mate a few hours ago," I chuckled to hide my irritation and took the controller Emmett offered me.

"Don't tell me you didn't go nuts with Bella," I continued, my pitcher aimed for Emmett's batter's crotch as the controller vibrated. My pitcher was about to be ejected from the game but it was worth it to bean Em's player.

"What the hell, man!" Emmett cried as his batter doubled over in pain. I just laughed, ready to use every pitcher I had to take out his roster.

I glanced at Edward who hadn't answered my question. He and Bella both looked and felt slightly embarrassed.

Renesmee was playing some sort of game with Jacob but was within earshot.

"Are you saying you didn't…" I trailed off with a pointed look.

"We did! A few times," he mumbled the last part.

"A few times?" I asked, unable to comprehend how they hadn't gone at it like rabbits.

"Sad, isn't it?" Emmett laughed, getting ready to destroy my batters. "They didn't even break any furniture."

"Really? Bella, you poor girl," I told her with both humour and sympathy.

"Come on," Edward whined. "We're not animals," he huffed. "Unlike you and Emmett."

"Our ladies aren't complaining," Emmett said and I concurred.

"I'm not complaining either," Bella countered.

"Look at it this way," I told Edward, "Instead of whining like a little girl, take notice of what Emmett and I are thinking about. You could learn a few things." I shot him a rather graphic image of my Major fucking Ivy's mouth. I picked the scene to shock Edward and preserve Ivy's modesty. She still had her shirt on when I did that, not that he hadn't already seen all of her through my eyes already. My mental image shifted, turning Ivy into Bella and me into Edward for his benefit.

My brother let out a groan and I saw the tenting in his pants. He took off like a shot, out of the house, dragging Bella behind him. I knew they wouldn't be back for a while.

An hour later, Rose and Ivy returned.

"What happened in here? We saw Edward and Bella run past us and then heard some very satisfied screaming in the woods," Rose laughed.

"I just gave him some encouragement. Edward seems to lack imagination," I smirked. Ivy seemed to be trying to work out what I showed him.

"The Major," I said and she knew exactly what scene I used.

"Oh, you're a naughty boy," she laughed and came to wrap her arms around me.

"I missed you and my chest hurt," she said. "Rose told me it was normal but I'll try not to do that too often."

I kissed the top of her head as she snuggled against me. I pulled her over to share the armchair with me, setting her in my lap, Emmett doing the same with Rose on the other chair.

"So what's this I hear about a gift?" Carlisle spoke, sitting on the couch next to Esme.

Ivy told Carlisle about her ability.

"I haven't been around anyone else yet so let me try it on all of you," she said, an adorable look of concentration on her face.

"Nope, nothing," she declared, "It seems I can only hear Jasper's emotions."

"Interesting," Carlisle mused. "It's looking more likely that my theory is right."

"What theory?" Ivy asked.

"I believe that we carry over some of out strongest attributes when we were changed and some of them manifest themselves in different ways. It makes sense for yours to be musical."

Ivy nodded, digesting the idea.

"I'm not sure it is a gift, to be honest," Ivy admitted, "It might just be an auditory hallucination." I felt her trepidation.

Just then Edward and Bella walked back in both with obvious sex hair.

Bella walked up to me and whispered a fervent "Thank you." I held back my laugh.

Atta boy, Eddie, I said and he avoided eye contact but felt very satisfied with himself.

"Ivy was just explaining what her gift is," Esme told the pair who sat on the couch when she and Carlisle moved to one side. "Jasper's emotions sound like music to her."

"So Ivy, what does Japer sound like?" Esme asked.

She turned her head to look into my eyes for a moment. With her gaze still on me she said, "He's an entire orchestra." If I still had the ability to flush, I would have.

"If it were a hallucination," Carlisle said, "You wouldn't be hearing his true emotions. You'd only hear what you thought he was feeling."

"It's true," I reassured her, "You've been right about how I'm feeling every time."

I felt Ivy's relief that she wasn't somehow crazy.

"Oh! I need to show you all something!" Ivy exclaimed.

She jumped up suddenly and ran to get her Stradivarius and was back in a flash.

"Jasper, take off your shirt," she ordered.

"Really guys? Get a room," Edward grumbled. I ignored him and peeled off my shirt. Ivy stared at me for a second looking like she had forgotten what she was up to. She shook her head to clear it and told me to turn my back to her and I understood what she meant to do.

"I wrote the bars of the song I first heard when Jasper and I claimed each other," she explained, totally not shy about our bonding. I felt smug about it. "I didn't have paper so I wrote it down on Jasper's back."

She placed the violin under her chin and tuned the strings. She played the song and I could watch her from the mirror beside me. It was angled just so and I watched her face reading from my back.

The song itself was exquisite and I'd never heard anything so beautiful. She played the last bar and I heard Rose whisper, "Beautiful".

"That's only the violin part, obviously, but someday I'll get a full orchestra to do it justice," she smiled.

Ivy's face fell when I pulled my shirt back on but allowed me to pull her back onto my lap in the armchair we were in before.

"Carlisle, how come I didn't feel the mating bond with Ivy when we first met?" I toyed with Ivy's hair, waiting for Carlisle's answer.

"I can't be completely sure but I think it has to do with the brain of a mortal person. A mating bond is such a complex feeling of connection that I don't believe a human brain can comprehend the sort of attachment that having a mate entails," he explained.

"That's what Demetri told me too when I asked him about it," Ivy confirmed.

"But as a vampire, how come I couldn't feel it?" I asked.

"It takes two to mate," Carlisle smiled at me slyly. "You were only one half of that pair."

"I knew my brain was wired wrong. Edward and I felt it when I was human," Bella explained. "Well, not quite as intensely as it is now, but still." Edward placed his arm around Bella's shoulders even though she wasn't upset.

All was quiet for a moment save for Jacob and Renesmee's game.

"Carlisle?" Ivy asked.

"Yes, Ivy?" he asked and gave her his full attention and I still felt no spike of lust from her. I smiled, pushed her hair over one shoulder and nuzzled the back of her neck with my nose.

"Can I… I mean, would it be possible to see my family again?" I felt her trepidation and rubbed her arm in a comforting gesture.

"I think it would be possible. Your control is admirable," he praised her.

"We'd have to come up with a plausible explanation for your…condition," I told her.

"Charlie knows about me but not what I am," Bella supplied.

"And he's okay with that?" Ivy asked skeptically.

"I think he's just relieved I'm alive. Well…sort of alive," she smiled softly.

"I think your parents and your sister would settle for that too," I whispered into her ear. "I know I was less willing to end my existence when I knew you were still in this world."

Ivy turned to look at me with an expression of dismay.

"What?!" she whispered angrily. "End your existence?" She kept her voice low enough to not be overheard and the others were talking, trying not to listen.

"I couldn't live in a world where you no longer existed. Even though we weren't technically mated, I think some part of me knew I couldn't live without you."

"Don't you ever dare to threaten something like that again," she said I felt her vehemence and terror at the thought.

"I promise, Ivy," I spoke against the shell of her ear, "I love you more than anything else on Earth."

"I love you more," she said and leaned her forehead against mine.

Carlisle cleared his throat to get our attention. We looked at him but kept our heads touching.

"I think you should call them first. It wouldn't do to shock them by showing up at their door unannounced," he advised.

"Okay," Ivy acquiesced. "Jasper, can I use your phone?"

"What happened to yours? I haven't seen it around the house," I asked.

"Aro got rid of it. I guess he thought I wouldn't need it again."

I handed her my phone and she stood from my lap, held out her hand which I took, and headed to the woods to make her call.

Ivy

I took a deep breath and dialed the number I could still remember despite my weak human memories. The phone rang three times before a breathless voice answered.

"Hello?" My mother's voice said.

I opened my mouth but no sound came out. I felt my throat close up as emotion choked me. I panicked and looked at Jasper who gave me an encouraging smile.

"Hello?" my mom said again.

"Hi Mom," I forced out quietly.

Dead silence met my words.

"Ivy?" my mom's voice sounded choked by emotion as well. "Oh god Ivy, is it really you? Oh sweetheart…"

"It's me. Mom, I'm so sorry…" I meant to continue but she cut me off.

"TYLER!" my mom screamed. "Tyler! Come quick! It's Ivy!"

"God, Nessa, what –" my dad's voice said from the background.

"It's Ivy! She's on the phone! Ivy! Are you still there? I'm putting you on speakerphone. Don't hang up!"

I heard a bit of fumbling before I heard my dad's deep voice.

"Scout?" he said hesitantly.

"Hi Atticus," I replied and felt venom well in my eyes.

"Oh god, it really is you!" he said in wonder. "What happened to you? Why –"

He was cut off by my mom's wail. "Why didn't you call?! You sent us that message and then nothing! We thought you died! Oh Ivy, my baby girl, where are you? What happened? Are you okay? Where's Demetri, I'm going to murder him."

"Mom, please! It's okay, I'll explain everything! Demetri and I…" God, what could I say? "We didn't work out. We're still friends but we never did get married. We lived together for a while but decided against marriage." That was pretty much the truth.

"But why did you stop calling?" my mom sounded broken and insanely hurt. I winced and knew I couldn't tell them everything.

"I can't apologize enough for that and I regret putting you all through so much," I told them truthfully. "I just need you to believe me when I say that I really couldn't call." I was busy changing into a vampire. I couldn't hold a phone without crushing it. I couldn't call you after that suicide note message I left on your voicemail because then I knew you'd try to come and find me.

"But I promise to never do that to you again if you can forgive me…" I let that hang in the air.

"Oh sweetie, of course you're forgiven. We're just so relieved you're alright!"

"Where are you?" came my dad's voice.

I looked at Jasper and he mouthed Tell them you're here in Forks.

Really? I mouthed and he nodded.

"I'm here in Forks," I told them and my mom gave the closest thing to a squeal as I'd ever heard her make.

"Then why are you calling?" she sounded like she wanted to scream.

"I was afraid you'd hate me," I offered timidly. That was true. They hadn't heard from me in over a year and I just called out of the blue. I'd hate me if that happened to me.

"How soon can you get here? Do you need a ride?" my dad stumbled over his words.

"I don't need a ride thanks. I can be there in an hour," I told him. "But I need to warn you," I huddled against Jasper's side, needing his strength, "I look a little different. It's hard to explain but I don't want you to be shocked by it." I felt it only fair to manage their expectations.

"Sweetie, we couldn't care less if you looked like the creature from the Black Lagoon. We just need to see you," my mom said and I could hear the affection in her voice.

"Will you be with someone?" my dad asked and I knew he was referring to a possible boyfriend. Jasper shook his head in the negative. I gaped at him, hurt.

Trust me, he mouthed. I did so and told my dad I'd be coming alone.

We said goodbyes only after I promised I'd show up.

"Why aren't you coming with me?" I resisted the urge to scream at him. He knew I was lashing out out of hurt. "I need you and your influence!"

Jasper wrapped his arms around me after I gave him back his phone. I buried my nose in his neck, breathing in his comforting scent.

"I wish I could come with you but you need to feel what you're feeling. You were just as hurt as they were and this is part of healing. Besides, I don't think your parents want to share you with anyone else right now. Also, I'm pretty sure they hate me for breaking your heart," he told me.

"But you'll be close, right?" I asked, feeling foolish for my weakness.

"I'll be just outside the house, listening in," he told me, rubbing my back, and I felt better knowing he'd be near me.

"I need to get ready," I told him. "Can you help me hunt?" I asked him. Having to catch my prey was a hassle at the moment. He agreed and we took off into the forest. He helped me find a brown bear and I took it down, getting filthy in the process but it was enough to fill me and tasted slightly better than a prey animal. It was still disgusting.

We went back to the house and I showered and changed. Rosalie brought me some contacts as my eyes still had a strange reddish cast though they were mostly gold. She gave me some pointers about moving slowly and shifting my weight. I practiced it and she gave me the green light and an encouraging hug. I already saw her as a sister but I had a different sister I was dying to see. I had missed a year of Lily's life and I'd never forgive myself for it.

Finally, it was time to go so Carlisle lent Jasper and I his BMW so my parents wouldn't be suspicious about how I got to their house and wouldn't recognized Jasper's truck which they'd seen before anytime he had visited me.

"I'll be just outside," he told me with a quick kiss and ran to blend in with the evening shadows.

I rang the doorbell and fought the urge to run away. I wanted to see them so badly but I was also afraid of what they would think of me. What if they asked about my appearance, or why I was cold, or why I was hard as a rock?

Before I could think of answers to the most obvious questions, the door opened and I was jerked inside and enfolded in my parent's arms almost instantly. There were already tears in their eyes and venom in mine.

My mom pulled away for a moment, studying my face and she hid a flinch when she put her hands against the cold skin of my cheeks. I saw her confusion, noted I couldn't hear her emotions either, and I saw the moment she realized she didn't care about the weirdness about my now-perfect face and odd sensation of my skin.

She pulled me into her arms again and kissed my face all over. I let out a half laugh and half sob and detached myself from my mom to give my dad a hug.

"My darling girl," was all he said into my hair and I knew he didn't care about the foreignness of his eldest daughter either.

Someday they might have questions but for now, it could wait.

I heard lighter footsteps and Lily appeared at the foot of the stairs. She stared at me for a minute, expressionless, and ran back up the stairs and slammed the door. It felt just as painful as the mating pull. The ache in my chest surprised me and I resisted the urge to rub it.

"She hates me," I whispered and knew it was true.

"She could never hate her big sister but I'm sure you can understand she's upset. She never got to say goodbye," my mom told me leading me into the familiar living room.

"Neither did you, and I'm so sorry," I said. It seemed so inadequate.

"We've already forgiven you. You've come back and it's more than we could have hoped for," my mom said with tears in her eyes.

I sat on the loveseat with my parents across from me on the sofa. I saw the flash of a hazy human memory of the day they met Jasper. I could hear his calming emotions and it helped me enormously.

"Can you tell us what happened?" my dad asked.

I told them all I could. That I had left for Italy with Demetri. We had decided to get married but didn't. I lived there for a year, absorbing all the history and art. I met Demetri's employers and they agreed to fund my education (this part was not necessarily true but I knew Aro would pay for all four years tuition so that I could graduate from EAMS if I so chose).

"Why did you come home?" my mom asked and I could tell what she wanted me to say and I knew it was the same thing I was feeling now.

"I wanted to come home and see you all again. I'm sure I'll return to Italy someday but I need you all in my life," I said simply.

"Where are you staying? Where are your suitcases?" my dad asked, ever practical.

"I'm staying with the Cullens," I said. They didn't look too pleased about that, harboring resentment for having left me without a word. I worked up the nerve to tell them about Jasper.

"Actually," I plowed ahead, "Jasper came to find me in Italy to apologize. We patched things up and he convinced me to come home. We're back together."

My parents looked surprised. "How did he know you were in Italy?" my dad asked.

"He spoke to Lisa. I told her about going to Volterra and she and Jasper both went to Cornell. They met up and she told him where I was."

It was an outright lie but it was the most plausible and I just hoped they hadn't spoken to Lisa. It seemed they hadn't because they believed me. I don't think they liked Lisa very much because of the whole drunken night of karaoke we had participated in. My human memory was fuzzy and a big chunk of that night was a blank but I remembered how much my hangover had sucked.

We talked for over two hours and I asked my parents if they thought Lily had calmed down enough to see me. They said it would be okay if I tried.

"She's been sleeping in your room since you left," my mom told me gently. "She's refused to change anything in it."

My heart broke. I climbed the steps to my room and knocked softly on the door. There was no answer so I said I was coming in and entered.

It was exactly the same as I had left it, right down to the mess of papers on my desk.

"Who are you?" the angry girl growled at me from her spot on the bed. She had been reading an old copy of one of my favourite novels and left it open on the bed.

"What do you mean? I'm your sister," I said hesitantly. I didn't know what was going on in her head. Edward would have been useful just then.

"You're not my sister. You don't look like her and my sister wouldn't have left me without saying goodbye," she crossed her arms over her chest, looking a lot like my mom.

"I'm so sorry, Munchkin," I began but she screamed and threw the book at me. When I didn't bother to dodge it or flinch when it hit me, she grew even more enraged, flung herself at me and tried to hit me. I couldn't let her as she would have only harmed herself so I held her at arms length and let her struggle until she calmed down. Eventually, she sobbed and slumped against me. I pulled her into a hug and she hugged me back with all the strength she had.

"I missed you Ivy," she said just below my shoulder. She had grown so much in over a year. I stroked her hair and told her I had missed her too. We stood in each other's embrace for a while until she pulled away.

We talked for another several hours about what I had been up to in Italy and what she had been doing in my absence. She still danced and showed me some of the awards she had won. I told her I was proud of her and she just hugged me again before quickly pulling away.

"Why are you so cold and hard?" she asked me suspiciously, prodding at my arm.

I sighed. I still didn't have a convincing reason. "It's too hard to explain. When I went to Italy, I developed a… condition. It had some effects on me physically. It's all the explanation I can give you," I shrugged as it if were no big deal.

"It's a medical condition?" she asked dubiously. My sister was young but she wasn't stupid.

"Sort of. Does it matter?" I asked her.

She truly thought about for a moment before shaking her head in the negative saying with conviction, "It doesn't." She hugged me again and I held her gently, rubbing her back.

My mom knocked softly on the open door, announcing her presence.

"Will you be staying for supper, Ivy?" she asked.

"I actually have dinner plans with the Cullens but can I come over tomorrow?" I still needed to be near my family.

"Ivy, you know you're welcome here any time," my mom assured me. "And Jasper too."

I must have looked surprised because she added, "If he brought you home, he's forgiven."

"Thank you," I told her. "That means the world to me."

I gave them all another round of hugs and left the house to get to the BMW. Jasper was already waiting inside. I sighed.

"That was emotionally draining," I told him, resting my head against the back of the passenger seat.

"I'm proud of you Darlin'," he told me and I heard his pride. He reached over and took my hand.

"I don't want to go back to the house quite yet," I told him. He nodded and I let him take me wherever he liked.

We drove towards Seattle so that's where I thought he was taking me but we kept on going and I saw he took the turnoff to the Goldmyer Hot Springs. I saw a small upturn of my mate's lips when I looked at him.

"You know this place is closed right?" I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Mhmm," he agreed. "It's never stopped me before."

"And you know we have no bathing suits," I added.

"We don't need them," he turned to me and fixed me with a smoldering gaze that took my breath away.

I bit my lip and got out of the car. We hopped the fence and reached the gently steaming pools. We stripped down by the edge and waded in. We weren't affected by cold and heat but the warmth still felt wonderful. We splashed around for a bit with enough moonlight to illuminate the area to our enhanced eyes.

Jasper stood up then, waist deep in the pool and I could see all the scars that covered his arms and chest as clear as day. I stood too and walked over to him. I'd seen them before both as a human and as a vampire but the sheer number of them always amazed me. I felt such pride for my mate as a formidable warrior who had never lost a fight. The thought never ceased to turn me on. I was sure both our eyes were black. I put my hands on his hips and kissed every single scar my lips could find while Jasper sighed and buried his hands in my hair.

I moved him over to the deeper water and rubbed his back to get the Sharpie off. He put his hands on my shoulders and walked me backwards until my back was pressed against the rough, rocky edge of the spring in a sort of grotto.

"Wrap your legs around me," Jasper ordered and I instantly obeyed, so turned on when he went all domineering.

"Hands above your head," he growled. He took both wrists with one hand and pinned them together against the rock.

We didn't even bother with foreplay. We were both ready and willing. He drove into me and I threw my head back with a sigh of pleasure that echoed around us. I kept my head back, exposing my neck to him in a show of trust and submissiveness. The position we were in reminded me of anther human memory when he had me pressed against the bookcases in his room, only this was coming to a more satisfying conclusion as he moved in me over and over and over. I moved my hips against his wondering how I could ever had minded having him inside me. Then again, as we were both corpses now, it didn't matter anyway.

I was so close to my climax and I knew Jasper could feel it. As soon as it hit, he bit down hard on the claiming mark on my neck and I screamed, nearly blacking out from the purest ecstasy I had ever felt. He thrusted hard a few more times and I felt him spill his venom inside me with a drawn-out groan. He let go of my hands and I moved them to his back, pressing us as close to each other as possible. My body shuddered, wrapped around him in every way.

"Oh Ivy," he breathed.

"I know," I whispered, almost as if we were in a sacred place.

"I have never been so happy in my many years on this Earth," he told me even though I both felt it and heard it.

"You say that now but just wait until a few centuries from now. You'll be wishing you never met me," I laughed making my way to the edge where out clothes were.

"Not a chance," Jasper chuckled and tried to pounce on me but I saw it coming and jumped out of the pool before he could get his hands on me. Eventually I let him catch me and he pulled me into his arms. We were still naked and the water droplets froze in the cold night air and formed crystalline patterns on our skin.

"Jasper?" I asked after a moment of nuzzling each other.

"Yes, Sugar?" he asked, looking into my eyes.

"Will you kiss me until we've dried off?" I traced a finger along his jaw.

"As if you had to ask," he gave me a dazzling smile and cupped my face in his hands and kissed me sweetly. It amazed me how he could go from domineering to tender in an instant. I looked forward to seeing every facet of my mate in the many, many years ahead of us.

We kissed – well, made out actually – well after we were dry and the sun was streaking the sky with magenta, ready to rise. We pulled away from each other to dress and headed back to the car and then on to Forks.

A/N: There is one more chapter left with the epilogue. :O

Thank you to my reviewers, followers and favouriters (yes, I'm aware that's not a real word, haha).