Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga is owned by Stephanie Meyer. I don't happen to be her; therefore, I cannot possibly own it.
Rating: Rated 'T' for 'Teen'. May change later.
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Family, Fluff, Friendship, First Time, General, High School, Horror, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Supernatural, Vampires
Warnings: Adult Content, Blood, Discriminatory Language, Violence
Pairings: Jasper/Bella, Emmett/Rosalie, Carlisle/Esme, Peter/Charlotte
Summary: Your typical story. Boy meets girl. They fall in love. A baby is quickly made. What happens when the boy's a vampire? What happens when said vampire is killed before the baby's born? Renée doesn't know what's going to happen to her baby, but Nahuel promises to keep it safe from his father. Jasper/ Bella
Author's Notes: You guys are going to hate me for a little while.
24. Kalamazoo
Mama threw a fit when she found out I was planning on leaving right away. She begged, pleaded, and manipulated me into staying until at least my birthday, as it was already the end of July by the time I had made it to their house.
Then it became until Halloween as we hadn't had one together in years. Daddy, due to my mother's tantrums, even agreed to dress up for the occasion; the visions of him as Peter Pan had me staying for that long. I never would have believed he had agreed to such if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Or through the lens of my camera.
And then that was followed by me staying through Thanksgiving. They even cooked a turkey for me.
I left the day after while they left to go hunting. Mama would be unhappy, but my father would understand. I only had so much patience, and Demetri was using up most of it. The guy was a horn dog and didn't understand the concept that I was a mated woman—even if I hadn't done the deed.
Rosalie just didn't want her baby to leave so soon, but enough was enough. I wanted to at least be on the Whitlock's territory by Christmas, and I wasn't sure if I'd make it. My body still needed to recuperate from the war—requiring a good ten to twelve hours of sleep a day, but that really didn't help too much. It was the siren in me calling. Demanding for me to find my mate. It was draining me of my energy, leaving me unable to truly recharge. I wasn't sure how I had lasted through those years of battles; perhaps on an instinctual level, the need to protect my mate outweighed the need to find him, appeasing the siren's call for his energy to fill my own. My staying here for these months, my finding my family first, did a number on me.
Still, I was pissed off. I was soaking wet from head to toe, as were my belongings. I'd been swimming in the Prince of Wales Strait between Banks Island and Victoria Island, then through the Amundsen Gulf it drained into until I hit Canada's mainland. I was certain a couple of my items were ruined—my favorite skirt for example.
It's just, I could wait until Mama would finally be okay with me leaving, but it would take years. And I really couldn't wait anymore! I didn't love the guy, not at all, yet I could definitely see myself falling in love with him so easily. It wouldn't take very long. I wasn't like Alice; I don't actively seek out visions to see my fated lover. Even if I was, I wouldn't like what I saw.
Or, well, that's how it used to be.
The vision now, they're much different than what I saw originally. Before, he was always so depressed, hormonal, and hateful. Now, he's much more at ease with himself, with his gift. He's not happy, not by a long shot, but he isn't suicidal anymore. An improvement had been needed on both our parts before I could view him with anything other than my stubborn eyes to see that he was never anywhere close to content when he was with the Denali's or traveling around as a nomad. I couldn't believe I was once so deluded as to think he had enjoyed his existence before. That it had been anything more than misery.
My ignorance, by stubbornness, nearly let him die. Then where would I be? Like Marcus and just waiting for death to find me? Or would I manage to let down my shield so that I could burn? Either way, nothing good would have come from his death. And that's my own selfishness talking.
Then there was the fact that they didn't know who my mate was, and seeing as their last encounter wasn't the happiest, I wasn't so sure I'd warn them before I allowed them to meet. A terrible plan, but it was the best one I had at the moment. Certainly they'd understand, I'd just have to let them be angry at me for a while. Lately, it seemed like I wasn't making the greatest of decisions.
When I finally made it to the slab of land that made the continental connecting mass of Moose Country, I started hauling it through the Northwest Territories of Canada until I reached Yellowknife. It was there that we owned a decent sized house. The building itself was fairly inconspicuous—a simple two story house painted an everyday yellow.
Once you went inside—through the front door at least—there was a small lounging room with two other doors, one leading to the garage, and one that hid a staircase. Up there, on the second level, were three bedrooms and one bathroom. One was for my parents, another was for myself, and the last was for whatever company we might have. Such as the hybrids or the Amazons. In each of those rooms was a bed, a dresser, a bookshelf, and a closet. None of them had individual bathrooms. Everything looked ordinary. The closets were filled with typical items to be found; clothes, shoes, and suitcases. The beds were constantly made, but had the messiness of someone that recently slept in them. The dressers were filled with undergarments, night clothes, and 'play clothes'. The bookshelves were filled to the brim with books.
There were few peculiarities. One was that the suitcases always had a hidden compartment in them for us to hide all our illegal information. Extra bank cards, IDs we weren't going to use unless it became necessary, the cash of foreign countries, and different license plates. The other was that the bookcases had those illegal affairs hidden in them, not the license plates though. That was in the cars themselves, stored underneath the passenger's seat in a concealed pouch. In my parents' room, you had to select the car manuals, the Do It Yourself guides, or the Cliff Notes books to find those things. In my room, you'd have to sort through the multiple copies of Shakespeare, Jane Austin, and Sun Tzu.
The front of the house had three openings: the main door and two garage doors on either side of the front door. Using those garage doors, or the lounge room door, would show the large room that was the garage itself. We had several tools—multiples of each tool in case someone grew frustrated, mainly myself—and extra parts for those 'whoops' moments when something doesn't want to work right. Or my dad got too excited in making one of our fast cars even faster.
However, it was below that all the magic happened. All our vehicles were stored here, even those we had rebuilt all those years ago back in France. All together, it could house thirty-two vehicles, not that we had that many. But, from simply looking at the place, one wouldn't be able to tell. We had automated parking. We came in on the right driveway to the rotating ramp, exited the car, and gave the computer a fifteen digit long password to identify the vehicle. It then took it to its assigned spot. When we needed one, it was more of the same. Give whichever set of numbers, wait for it, and left through the opposite driveway. They were all stored lower, unseen from view. My father had thought of the idea since there was the concern of thieves if we used a normal parking garage, but having them out, obvious all the time was just asking for trouble.
I had been here a couple of times before, had the sets of numbers rattled off to me, and helped Mama restore the vehicles to working order. Plus selecting some new upgrades to get them running even better than before.
Today though, I'd just be cleaning my clothes, taking a shower, and packing some more bags. I had made sure to keep this place well stocked ever since realizing how little money they had stored in my little house. Never did I want them to be on the run, but they couldn't always rely on cards to get them out of a situation that called for cash.
Possibly, I'd take a nap before beginning my trek. Yes, a nap would be good.
The Great Slave Lake was a terrible name. I'd seen billboard after billboard with that name plaster on it in giant bold letters for the past couple of hours. The people native around this area were once called "Slavey People" due the slavery of their ancestors being a popular occasion. Thankfully, the terms was used little nowadays, but it was still terrible to note. I was upset more over this than my travels previously.
This was going to be a very long trip—even if Mapquest informed me it would only take around sixty hours if I never stopped. No rest. No food. No nothing. I was far too tired to try that, more so lately as I had to do all that extra work running and swimming with little feeding to reach Yellowknife. But, I wasn't taking the major highways and interstates, and I would be avoiding tolls as much as possible.
My first stop would have to be in Edmonton, Alberta for a bite to eat, an animal to drink, and a place to sleep.
The next night found me in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Day Eight since leaving the house put me Regina, Saskatchewan. I'd had a flat tire and no spare, so I had to wait until someone decided to stop so I could call a tow company. Thankfully that was an easy fix.
Next was Winnipeg, Manitoba. Then Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. I'd hated every town called "Maria" just by association to that woman, and I'd seen several when I was traveling through the south.
On Day Eleven, I finally managed to make it to the United States. Cheboygan, Michigan. I'd had fun giggling over the name with several other tourists in a hole-in-the-wall diner. When I'd seen on my map that there was a town called "Kalamazoo" just half the state away, I'd made a detour to stay there for the next night. Afterwards, I went back to my original plan and stayed in Sandusky, a town only about thirty miles away from their house.
Wednesday, December 13, 2000
I'd been at Jasper's for nearly a week. The knowing told me they left the night before, on a week long trip to Chicago for some new gang that was outbreaking within the city. My mate had mostly gone along for the ride, deciding to pick up some new books since he was in the town anyways.
I could smell him all over the place. His scent saturated his favorite leather chair in his room. The man didn't have an actual bed; he never slept so he had no need. I knew which books were the ones he loved to read as his smell was stronger upon those than the others.
Peter would be pissed that I picked the locks to the front door, but at least I didn't break the thing down. That would be rude; it was bad enough I was in their territory without their permission, but his scent was here and I wasn't giving it up. Not until he was in front of me. At least I got here by Christmas.
At the edge of my shield, I could feel a mind that I had only had a glimpse of the once. 'She's in my house. She's in my fucking house. The Major is going to rip that bitch apart. Fuck, he'll probably give me the head to burn.'
Okay, so the guy didn't know who I was. No big deal. They'd figure it out soon enough. Just let Jasper be within sniffing distance and they'd know why I was here.
'Wait, shit. She's important. Damn that's a nice car. Maybe he'll let me keep it. No! Wait, important. Need to remember that.'
'He's worried. Pete's never worried. My poor man. We've got time t—' Her mind was filthier than Demetri's and that's saying something.
There it was! Jasper's spark! Oh, his mind was a mess, mostly battle plans and wondering who might be here to challenge the Major. He'd be in for a nice surprise. I knew he'd been waiting for the two of us to meet for some time, but he thought I likely hadn't been born yet. Or was killed in the wars and needed to be reborn. No, I was right here. Willing and ready to finally see his face.
I darted from the large cabin quickly. I stood on the front porch, straightening my white and pink pokadot sundress and my leather jacket. Unfortunately, I left my cowboy boots back in the room. Well, at least my pretty bubblegum pink toes might be appreciated instead of being hid behind rattlesnake. I probably should have worn the jaguar skirt instead of my dress, but it would have to do.
First was the Captain. His skin sparkled in the light, radiating with the brilliant shine that came with all the scars he carried. Next was Charlotte, not nearly as blinding as she had so few marks. They looked just as my parents' minds remembered them. At least he wasn't growling at me though.
'Fuck, she's his mate!'
Guess we didn't need to wait to the end of the event to show them my parting trick then, did we?
Oh god, there he was. He was more handsome than anything I could have dreamt up; my visions did not do him justice.
His high, pronounced cheekbones; that defined, chiseled jaw. Those sculpted eyebrows, his thick lips, and close set eyes. His facial hair had been purposely trimmed as it all looked immaculate—I'd have to thank Alice later. I could see that he finally came to terms with being blonde, but that dye would take some time to wear off. A few more weeks before it would be gone. Perhaps he'd let it stay that way, or maybe he just like being dark haired. And, dear goodness, he was tall, a good six and a half feet. Plus the muscled body to match all those years he spent working on a farm, then working in the military, before being changed.
If I had known he was this attractive, I might have given running from him a second thought.
I could smell him from here. Tobacco, whiskey, and vampire smoke. The siren in me wanted him, wanted to touch him, to feel his flesh. To make sure he was there. That he was mine. Oh, he'd be screaming my ownership by the time I was done with him.
"Hello," I called out to them with ease. "Should I pull an Alice and tell you that you've kept me waiting?"
He tipped his hat to me, giving me an apologetic smile. "Sorry Ma'am."
Ending Author's Notes: So, except for what's next, which is the epilogue, this is the last chapter. Of 'General Affection' anyhow. Next I'm going to work on a story called 'Dandelion', which is being edited by the wonderful GeezerWench. After that's done, I'll start working on 'Major Infatuation', which is the sequel to this. Well, technically it's the main story as this is just a prequel to 'Major Infatuation'. Oh well. But, I won't even be posting 'Dandelion' until I get my keyboard fixed as it's on the fritz right now. I'm currently using someone else's computer.
I have a tumblr; there is a link to the blog for this story on my profile. It has pictures and links to stuff. Just look under the 'Navigation' tab on the sidebar. If I ever have outtakes, they'll be there.
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