I'm still here. A huge thank you to everyone who has reached out to me to ask how I was or just to say hi. A few kind words can mean the world.

A huge thank you to Raum for all her help, advice, and endless patience, and to everyone else who has helped this Pennsylvania girl with advice, recommendations, and information on the Olympic Peninsula. Without their help, this fic would not exist.

This story is set in 2012.

Disclaimer - All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners.

Chapter 27

"Well?"

They sat on the bleachers, Edward in one row, facing backward, Alice, Jasper, and Eleazar in the row above.

"First," Alice said. "Carlisle called. The letter came."

"What?" Edward pressed his hand flat on the bleacher. "Already?"

"It was dropped off, not mailed."

"Well? Did he get it? Who wrote it?"

They shared a glance between them all. Edward sank back. That glance couldn't be good.

"Yes, he got it. Dr. Murchison was making his rounds when it was delivered and hadn't gotten around to looking at it. It was nothing for Carlisle to slip into his office and steal it."

"Who was it from?"

They glanced between themselves again.

"It was unsigned," Alice said, "but Leah Clearwater's scent was all over it."

Shock was the first thing Edward felt, stupid was the second. Leah. Of course.

"He caught her scent the moment he stepped out of the car, so he suspected right away. She went into the reception desk but no farther. He slipped into Dr. Murchison's office, and it was in a stack of papers on his desk."

So, that was one thing down, at least. At least they knew there wasn't someone else out to cause trouble for them.

"You said you had an idea," Edward said.

It was Eleazar who began.

"There's a guard in the Volturi who has the gift of sensory deprivation."

Edward's heart slammed against his ribs, and he jumped to his feet. The Volturi? Had they found out? They had to get out of there. Why were they wasting time, sitting around talking? How would they move Grace? Where would they—

A deep sense of calm washed over him, and Eleazar raised a hand in a gesture of reassurance. Edward's eyes flew to Jasper, and he sat down slowly.

"Alec," Eleazar continued. "He can cut off a person's senses completely. Sight, feeling, sound, everything. The Volturi use him to incapacitate their target before executing them if the group is a large or powerful one. Or to anesthetize those smaller or less powerful, if they're feeling generous."

"You are not making me feel any better."

"The person sees, feels, hears absolutely nothing."

Edward waited impatiently, but nothing more was said. "And?"

"That's the idea," Alice explained. "Jasper's gift is different, but we think he can use it in a similar way. Not to numb pain, exactly, but to create a state of relaxation deep enough to make it more endurable, sort of a twilight sleep."

"You think you can help her?" Edward perked up, and he turned to Jasper, hopeful for the first time. If there was the slightest chance of helping Grace, they needed to try as soon as as possible. Why had they even wasted time coming to him? "What are we waiting for?"

Eleazar cautioned him. "This is only a theory. There is no guarantee it will work."

"No, I understand. But if there's any chance—"

"Gray told you about the vision Alice had," Jasper said, speaking for the first time and making Edward feel as if ice water had just been dumped on him. "The one about you."

Ants crawled under his skin. "Yes."

"She's against it," Alice said.

Edward fidgeted and looked away. Yeah, he knew that.

"What do you want?" she asked.

Edward stumbled over his words. As against it has Grace was, and even with Alice's vision, he couldn't see any other choice. The only way forward was for him to be changed. Unlike Grace, they agreed. Relieved as he was, he felt guilty, as if he was going behind Grace's back.

"She told you about the change," Eleazar said. "What it's like."

. . . put your hand in the flames and hold it there. . . .

He swallowed and nodded.

"If our idea works, you wouldn't have to suffer what we all did. What she did," Alice said. "Or at least, not as much."

Edward didn't respond because he didn't know what to say. He hadn't thought of that. He couldn't say that knowing what it would be like hadn't scared the shit out of him, or that anything that might make it even a little less excruciating wouldn't be almost the best news he could get, but he didn't think he was Jasper's favorite person, and he didn't think he looked either as thrilled or as hopeful as Alice.

"The truth is, you have a very powerful gift," Eleazar said.

"Me?"

"Eleazar's talent is that he can sense gifts in others," Alice explained.

"You have a defensive gift. You're a shield, and a very powerful one," Eleazar said. "You can shield your mind from Gray. We've never encountered anyone who could keep her out before you."

Him?

"But, I mean, that's only Grace. I mean, I can't . . ." Edward stammered, and he took a breath to gather himself together. "I can't . . . 'shield' myself from any one else." Hadn't they just proved twice in only a few minutes that Jasper could influence his emotions?

And his dad? What about his dad? The way Eleazar had looked at him, was he sensing something in his father? Edward voiced the question, demanding to know the answer.

"Your father is a shield as well, but of a different sort. Gifts work differently," Eleazar said. "Some affect the mind, like Grace's. Jasper's doesn't. He doesn't create the illusion of feeling a certain way. He physically makes you feel it. Shields are the same. Each one is unique in the way it works. There's another member of the Volturi guard who is a shield, Renata, but her shield protects against physical attacks, whereas yours and your father's protect your minds from attack."

Edward resented the implication that Grace attacked people's minds. It wasn't as if she had a choice. He'd almost go so far as to say it was the other way around—other people's minds attacked hers, forced their own thoughts into her head. Never leaving her alone. Never leaving her in peace.

"Alec's gift works against the mind, like Gray's. He cuts off his victims' senses in their minds," Eleazar explained. "His twin Jane's gift does just the opposite, but it works just the same. In her victim's heads. Alec cuts off all feeling. Jane makes you feel the worst pain you can imagine, but it's all in your mind."

"They sound lovely," Edward deadpanned.

"There are others—Chelsea, Demetri, Corin—but Alec and Jane are their most powerful weapons. No one can stand against them."

Edward narrowed his eyes. "You know a lot about this Volturi."

"I was a member of the Volturi guard for several decades a couple of centuries ago."

Frozen to the spot, Edward gaped at him. His first thought was to run, to warn Grace, but he couldn't move. It was a stupid instinct anyway. She'd already know, of course. Eleazar's mind didn't leave hers in peace any more than anyone else's did. She knew, and she trusted him anyway. Edward tried to force himself to relax—he didn't want a repeat of how he'd reacted to Garrett—but he didn't quite succeed.

Before he had a chance to think anymore about Eleazar's past, Alice's face went blank, then pinched in irritation almost immediately. Jasper scowled, and all three turned and looked in the same direction at once. Edward looked back and forth, in the direction they'd all turned then back to them, until he saw what had drawn their attention.

Or rather, who.

"Jake."

Edward made a fist and dug his knuckles into his thigh. He hadn't spoken to Jake since . . . the last time he'd spoken to him.

She is either going to change you or kill you. Better she killed you than you be one of them.

He thought again about all of the plans they'd talked about, the things they'd do one day, the life he'd thought he'd have before he'd met Grace. He couldn't pretend he didn't feel a pang for that life, but there was no contest. That life couldn't include Grace. He could be happy with Grace and still feel that pang, but he could never be happy in that life without her.

Jake stalked toward them. Alice and Eleazar sat perfectly still. Jasper's only movement was his hands, his palms slowly rubbing against each other. It was a power play, Edward recognized. They weren't meeting him. They were making him come to them. He wished he could match the others' composure, but his leg bounced like mad. He pressed his palm against his thigh to steady it, but his other foot started.

Jake came to a stop at the bottom of the bleachers. He ran his eyes over Alice and the others before meeting Edward's and holding them.

"Where the fuck is Leah?"

"How should we know?" Alice responded.

Jake ignored her. "Where is she?" he repeated, his voice ice cold.

"Have you tried the pound?" Jasper asked.

"She's not on the rez," Jake said, ignoring him as well, talking directly to Edward as if the others weren't even there. His own power play, Edward could see, acknowledging their presence then ignoring it. "Her car is gone, and no one knows where she is."

"Why would I know where she is?" Edward asked.

"I know she went to your house. I know she went to see you."

"Yeah, she was there. You can tell Sam she followed orders and delivered his message."

"What message?"

Edward scoffed. "Like you don't know. Sam and the Elders have declared the treaty void." They want that thing destroyed at all costs. Edward cracked his knuckles.

Jake startled badly. "If your new friends have laid a finger on her—"

"I have no idea where she went after she left the hospital."

Jake froze. He recovered, drawing himself up to his full height, but not quickly.

"Sue doesn't know she's missing yet. Do you know what it'll do to her when she does?" He passed a hate filled glare over Alice and the others before turning back to Edward. "But I guess now that you've got new friends, you don't care about your old ones."

Jake turned and left without another word.

It didn't make any sense. How could they not know where Leah was? But Edward believed him. Maybe he shouldn't—Sam could've ordered Jake to come and claim they didn't know where she was. But why would he? The last thing they would want had to be to show any kind of dissension in the ranks, a weakness of any kind. No, Edward believe him. Jake was seriously rattled. They really didn't know where Leah was.

What had happened after she'd left the hospital? Where had she gone? He couldn't help but think of Sue. Jake was right. Sue would be frantic when she found out. It hadn't been long since Harry had died.

Edward called out to Jake to stop.

Jake turned, but his fists and jaw were clenched hard.

"Leah came to the house," Edward said. "She delivered Sam's message. She went to the hospital and delivered the letter. Really, we have no idea where she went after that."

"I don't know what fucking message or letter you're talking about."

"I guess Sam doesn't tell you as much as you tell him."

Jake glared at him, his face tormented, as if he were fighting a war withing himself. For a moment it looked as if he were going to speak, but he clenched his jaw and stormed away. Edward watched him go. This would probably be the last time they ever saw each other. He didn't want to have this be the end.

"Jake! C'mon, wait!"

He stopped, but didn't turn. He seemed to vibrate where he stood.

"I do care about you guys," Edward said. "About all of you. You know that."

Jake looked back at him, his hands flexing and clenching.

"Look, we're leaving, okay?" Edward said.

Jake opened his mouth, but he froze, trembling. He glanced quickly at Alice and the others before stepping closer to Edward.

"It's not too late. Come back to the rez with me. It'll be alright. They won't stop you, not in public. They won't risk attracting the attention."

"I'm not leaving her, Jake."

Jake moved closer. They were almost toe to toe, Jake's eyes blazing with desperation.

"Listen to me, please," he begged. "Don't do this. Okay?"

Edward sighed. "You're the ones making us."

Jake put his face in his hands. When he lowered his arms, he looked calmer—barely. "Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm trying here. I really am. I get it." He leaned toward Edward and lowered his voice. "I know. Leah and I went to the house to try to talk to you, and we heard you and your dad talking. We know about— I know it's—" His hand flew to his throat as if he were choking. He took two steps back, his face twisted in revulsion.

. . .Sam knows. About your bouncing baby bloodsucker. . . .

. . .We drove out, and we heard you both talking about it. . . .

. . .They want that thing destroyed at all costs. . . .

Edward's temper flared. "The word your looking for is yours. Say it. 'It's yours.' It's mine."

Jake's lip curled.

"What about your dad? Have you stopped to think what this'll do to him?"

Jake didn't know his dad and Tanya were together. That confirmed it, if it needed to be confirmed. They really didn't know where Leah was. She'd have told them. Edward really didn't want to be the one to break that news.

"Just tell Sam not to do anything stupid. Okay?" Edward said. "We'll leave, and none of you guys will get hurt. Just tell Sam not to start anything."

"You're worried about us getting hurt? I'm touched." Jake scoffed. "You mean you're worried about your precious bloodsuckers."

"I don't want anyone to get hurt."

Jake smirked. "We took that one with the dreads down without a scratch—"

"And you were how many against one?"

"—and that blond one before."

"After Grace had busted his knee and smashed his jaw."

Jake's nostrils flared.

"I won't have a choice. Do you understand that? I won't have a choice. You do. You have a choice, and you're choosing wrong." He stopped and turned to go, but he looked back again. "Don't wait. If you're going with them, don't wait. Please, don't make me live with—" His voice broke, and he turned away again. This time, he didn't turn back, and Edward didn't stop him. He stood there and watched him go until he was out of sight and a cold hand brushed his arm.

"I'm sorry," Alice said.

Jasper and Eleazar stood at the bottom of the bleachers, neither looking in his direction.

"He was my best friend since we were little and playing in the dirt." Edward kept staring in the direction Jake had gone. "I'm never going to see him again."

"You don't know that." Alice rubbed his arm. "The future can change in surprising ways."

Edward didn't want the false hope. It was for the better that they didn't see each other again. Jake really wouldn't have a choice, and that left Edward without a choice.

"We should get back," he said. Edward stalked toward he truck. He'd been away from Grace too long. Fuck appearances. He wasn't leaving her again. They could tell people he was sick too. That would have to be good enough.

Jasper and Eleazar joined them, Jasper staring in the direction Jake had gone even after he was out of sight.

"We're do you think Leah went?" Jasper asked.

"No idea."

"Does she have friends in town? Think. Anywhere she'd be likely to go? Somewhere other than Forks. Port Angeles, maybe? If she didn't want to go back to La Push, where would she go?"

"I don't know." They shared a glance between the three of them. Edward hated when they did that. "Why?"

"Irina hasn't returned," Eleazar said.

Irina. The one who was so upset about the pack killing that one who'd gone after that hiker, Laurent. The one who didn't want Carlisle to let them get away with it.

Leah. So angry, despising Grace's family so deeply.

Oh, God. Leah. . . .

"Let's not panic," Alice said. "It's a big state out there, and bigger still beyond it. We have no reason to suppose they are within hundreds of miles of each other. They just mean we'd prefer to know for a fact that they aren't."

"Can you find her?" Edward asked.

"We wouldn't know where to begin, especially if she's traveling by car. You know her. Where would she go?"

Edward ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know." Leah's life was in La Push. He didn't think she had any friends in Forks. Not close friends, anyway. "She has family up on the Makah reservation in Neah Bay." That was were Emily was from. "But I don't think she'd go there, and if she had, Sam would know."

"Let's get back to the house," Alice said.

"I don't understand why she wouldn't just go back to La Push," Edward said.

There was a pause, then Jasper answered as they reached his truck.

"I have a theory on that. If I'm right, La Push is the last place she'll go."

Edward stood with his hand on the driver's side door. "Why?"

"Because your friend wasn't pretending not to know about Leah delivering Sam's warning or the letter about Carlisle. He was genuinely and deeply shocked."

"You mean he really didn't know Sam had sent her?"

"More than that. He knew he hadn't."

"I don't understand."

"If I'm right, Leah's gone lone wolf."

.~.

Charlie put the lid on the last of the coolers Pastor Webber used to distribute the lunches. Behind him, Tanya was washing the last of the pots. Neither Pastor Webber nor his wife had looked in on them even once. Most days they were in and out. He couldn't understand their reaction to Tanya. They were perfectly normal around Esme.

The water shut off.

"That's that," Tanya said, drying her hands on a dish towel. Something so ordinary and domestic struck Charlie as funny, and in spite of everything, he grinned.

She tossed the towel onto the counter and came over to him. "You should smile more often," she said, tracing her fingers along the collar of his shirt. "It suits you."

The muscles in his stomach twitched.

Her nose crinkled as she indicated the coolers. "You don't deliver the food too, do you?"

"No, Pastor Webber takes it in the church van. I'll go find him."

Tanya looked up at the ceiling. "They're a floor above, back corner by the road." She lowered her eyes to his and smirked, running the tip of her finger down his chest and making Charlie forgot what they'd been talking about. "Whispering about that lady down there with Charlie," she said. "They don't like the way I look at you."

He swallowed. Right. The Webbers. He bristled at Tanya's description of their conversation.

"Go and tell them it's ready," she said with a laugh. "I'll wait outside. I don't think their blood pressure could take seeing me again."

She gave him a soft kiss and a smile, and went out. Charlie stared at the door after it closed. She chose him. Plain old Charlie. He couldn't understand why, but she had.

The church's office was a small room at the back of the building. As Charlie approached, hushed voices abruptly stopped talking. The door stood partly open, and he knocked on it as he leaned in.

Pastor Webber jumped to his feet.

"Charlie."

"Everything's ready," Charlie said. "The coolers are packed, and everything's washed up. We're going to head out."

Tracy Webber peeked down the hall before ushering him in and closing the door behind them.

Charlie sighed. He'd been hoping to make a quick escape.

"Charlie, what about Jenny?" Tracy asked.

Jenny. He couldn't pretend to not know what she was talking about, tempting as the idea was.

"Everyone thought. . . ."

Yeah, he knew what everyone thought. What Jenny had thought. He felt like enough like an ass as it was. He really didn't need to have it pointed out to him.

"I know this Tanya is beautiful. God knows, that whole family is. I'm sure they're all very nice people, and no one could say they aren't very generous. And of course, your Edward is seeing one of their girls. But Jenny's a sweet girl too, and she's local. As nice as I'm sure that family are, they're not from around here. They're not like us, with their fancy cars and expensive clothes. Who knows how long they're going to stick around?"

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again."

He winced. He couldn't pretend to not know what she was taking about there either.

"And I know it's not any of my business," she said. "But Jenny Mason is my friend, and she's crushed. She'd thought—"

No, it wasn't any of her business, but more than resenting her interference, what Charlie felt most was that her reproach was deserved. Still more though was what he felt knowing that, outside and alone, Tanya was hearing every word.

"Tracy," Pastor Webber admonished.

He and his wife shared one of those wordless conversations only couples who'd been together for decades could share. Charlie'd always been just a little bit jealous of couples who could do that.

Tracy folded her arms, but her face showed open apology.

"I suppose Jenny can be a little over dramatic."

Overwhelming would've been Charlie's word, but he knew enough to kept it to himself.

Pastor Webber cleared his throat, and Charlie thought he heard a mumbled, "A little?"

His wife heard, too, but Pastor Webber changed the subject.

"You'll be away tomorrow?" he asked

His wife gave him a smile that looked both in reluctant agreement and real affection. That was something else Charlie'd always been just a little bit jealous of, men who got smiles like that from their wife. But outside, Tanya waited for him, and knowing that, all the jealousy he'd felt toward other men for so long loosened.

"Your doctor?" Pastor Webber asked.

"Uh. Yeah." His doctor. Charlie was aware he was being ridiculous about it. He'd come to accept he needed Dr. Anderson's help as much as he did Dr. Murchison's. Still felt as uncomfortable as fuck talking about it, though.

And then there was the guy in Seattle.

"Carlisle—Dr. Cullen—found a specialist in Seattle. He's supposed to be one of the best in the country for . . ." Charlie gestured to his shoulder.

Both the Webbers' showed surprise.

"Charlie, that's wonderful," Tracy said.

"It really is," Pastor Webber agreed. He came around from behind his desk to stand next to his wife. "We're keeping you in our prayers."

Taking that as his opening to get out of there, Charlie nodded, mumbling his thanks under breath, and made his escape quickly as he could.

That had been awkward as fuck, but it could've been worse, he reasoned.

Stepping outside was like a breath of fresh air, but his steps slowed as he caught sight of Tanya's face. Her expression was unreadable, but her eyes were locked on the back corner of the church. Lead formed in Charlie's stomach. He had no idea what to say. Would this be what made her finish with him? She met him half way across the parking lot, her eyes still on the church until she came within arm's reach.

She tucked her head under his chin. "Don't let her get to you." Her hands rested low on his waist for a moment, then her arms wrapped around him.

.~.

Rosalie was at the piano downstairs, playing for Gray to help pass the time before Edward returned. It was kind, but futile. Every minute that passed seemed to stretch out longer than the one before it. Every tick of the grandfather clock in the hall downstairs grew louder until they rang out like the echoing clangs of a gong.

The memory of Edward's face from Alice's vision haunted Gray. The blazing, white hot fury that had twisted his features into something unrecognizable. It was easier to believe Alice's assurances and pleas for her not to assume the worst when he was in front of her, close enough that she could feel his warmth in the air between them. Without him near, it was harder. Gray was there when Esme awoke to this life, and Rosalie, and Emmett. Rosalie had been enraged, to put it mildly, but Edward in Alice's vision eclipsed her at her worst. Without him in front of her, it was harder to keep the fear that his rage was directed at her from overcoming her. She'd been wrong before, telling him to go on his run. She didn't care about appearances anymore. She just wanted him there, with her.

Jasper's thoughts were the first to enter her mind. He projected his thoughts like the military officer he'd been during his human life, forceful and commanding, and she heard him before the others. He'd come up with a plan and a theory, and he outlined both for her with his usual military efficiency. The idea was both simple and ingenious. Brilliant, really. Gray felt hope, but she kept a tight rein on it, afraid to let herself hope too much. As brilliant as it was, there was no guarantee it would work. He had another theory on a different score. Leah. It was unprecedented. To the best of their knowledge, no wolf had ever left the pack and gone on their own. If he was right, it made the question of where she was all the more pressing. She clearly had plans of her own and was acting on them.

Alice's and Eleazar's followed. Alice showed her Edward's reaction to Jasper's theories. Unsurprisingly, he had been elated at the first, his immediate reaction being to get back to her right then and there. Jasper's theory about Leah had taken him by surprise. It had just been one more concern for his friends thrown at him. Another thing Gray saw in Alice's mind—the vision of Charlie being questioned by the state police had changed. She'd only seen a flash before Jacob had come and she'd lost it. She hadn't mentioned it to Edward yet, not on top of everything else. Eleazar ran down ideas of his own and his discussion with Edward, both his and his father's ability to block her from hearing their thoughts. Gray did not like the direction the conversation had taken. Both were shields, powerful ones Eleazar believed. There was no real surprise there, but he'd told Edward about others that he believe Edward and his father could block—others like Jane and Alec.

The three of them were in one car, and Edward was in his truck right behind them. He drove with the window down, his elbow on the door. Alice watched him in her side mirror, and Gray could see his reflection in her thoughts. He was chewing on his thumb nail. Gray had never seen him do that before or noticed bitten nails.

"They're coming now," Gray said to her family throughout the house.

As she filled everyone in on what the others had shown her, Carmen slipped out to the porch to await Eleazar's return, and it was through her eyes that Gray saw Edward drive into the clearing. His eyebrows were pinched together. Her family were intrigued at the possibility that Jasper could use his gift as a sedative, but it was his theory on Leah that dominated their thoughts. She thought they probably dominated his too.

Jasper's own thoughts were largely centered on her, testing her emotions as best he could from a distance to gauge her reaction to everything he himself as well as Alice an Eleazar had told her. The tone of his thoughts on Edward wasn't apologetic, but nor was it unfeeling.

Every member of this family defends this family, he told her.

How could she argue with that? Gray would've accused him of having asked Alice for the best thing to say to her, had she not heard his perfect sincerity in his mind.

The discussion had already begun before they were even out of the cars, everyone talking at once.

"Is that possible?"

"I think the time for questioning whether a thing was possible has passed. We're sailing in uncharted seas."

"Leah's being behind the letter explains why Alice didn't see it until the last minute. She probably didn't see it until after Leah had left it."

"She has to be in her human form or the pack would hear her thoughts."

Gray considered that. "If the point of their telepathy is for the pack to communicate, and Jasper's right and she's left the pack, it's entirely possible that they wouldn't be able to hear her anymore. Probable, even."

Jasper thought about it and agreed it was a plausible theory.

"She can stay hidden much more easily in her wolf form, if they really can't hear her," he said. "If she got out of the area by car first, she could be anywhere."

And doing anything.

"But she wouldn't know they wouldn't be able to hear her. Would she take the chance?"

"What would it matter if they could hear her? Hearing what she was thinking wouldn't tell them where she was."

"Or stop her."

They parked. Alice waited behind for Edward, but the others were inside before he closed his door.

The first change Gray noticed was that her body seemed to feel heavier, her arms and legs. Jasper came into the room. She blinked. In a detached way, her mind registered there was a slowness to the movement of her eyelids.

"Jasper is with her now," Alice said.

"Is he doing it?" Edward asked walking past her. "Grace!" Gray could hear his footsteps on the stairs. "Is it working?"

How do you feel? Jasper asked.

Gray's hand rested on her stomach, and she raised it slightly, staring at it, twisting it and wiggling her fingers. It tingled, and her movements felt sluggish.

Weird.

All around the house her family stopped what they were doing and listened.

Edward ran up the stairs.

Her baby moved, and she laid her hand back on her stomach.

Jasper stood across the room.

"Grace?" Edward threw the door open and rushed in.

"Hi," she said.

"Are you okay? How are you? How do you feel?"

"I'm okay." Was that her voice? Slurred like that? This was bizarre. She felt heavy, weighted down, but calm. So completely calm. "How are you? Did you have a good run?"

"How am—?" He dropped to the ground next to her and ran his hand over his face. "Are you still in pain?"

She considered a moment. The pain wasn't gone. It was still there, but somehow. . . .

"It's tolerable."

"It's working?" Edward breathed hard. Around the house her family hugged each other. Jasper smiled. Edward squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his forefinger and thumb against his closed lids. He gasped and smiled wide before turning to Jasper. "Thank you."

.~.

The idea to use Jasper's gift as an aesthetic came from the baseball scene in Midnight Sun, from Jasper using his gift to shield himself, Alice, Esme, and Bella from James' coven's notice by making anyone glancing at them feel utterly uninterested in them, a "haze of tediousness", a "sense of overwhelming mundaneness", a "vale of tedium". It wasn't something Edward had had any idea he could do, and he wondered if it was something he'd developed during his years with Maria, a camouflage. With Eleazar's experience with the Volturi and the gifts he's seen and how he's seen them developed, it made me think about how Jasper's gift could be developed, like Kate's going from just her palms to all over her body, and whether Jasper had ever tried to develop his or if it just was what it was. If he tried, could he create such an intense sense of calm/relaxation in someone it would mimic medical sedation?

Thank you to everyone who is still willing to read this fic. Drop me a line and let me know how you like the chapter. Reviews are gold.