CHAPTER 23
Ugh... Why am I awake? I felt like I had been hit by a train. I rolled out of Jasper's embrace to check the time.
"It's 9.30." Jasper said, gently guiding me back into his embrace. I grunted my response and closed my eyes again, hoping I could go back to sleep. My attempts were futile. Apparently my needs for the bathroom and a cold drink were more important. I groaned and lifted myself from the bed and headed for the bathroom.
"I'll get you some pain killers and a drink. Meet me in the kitchen when you're done. You'll definitely need some hang over food." Jasper chuckled, getting out of bed.
"That's nice..." I groaned. I'll never drink wine and smoke two dozen cigarettes again! I wonder how long it was going to take before I got my bearings again?
Half an hour later, I was freshly showered, dressed and headed for the kitchen. My mouth was watering when I smelt the bacon, eggs and sausages Jasper was cooking. I'm pretty sure I'd forgotten to eat last night in my drunken haze.
"Smells amazing." I said, walking up behind Jasper, wrapping my arms around his middle from behind.
"I see you're in a much better mood now."
"Yes, I am. I'm sorry about before." I whispered, sincerely sorry about my cave man response earlier.
"No need for that, there's nothing to apologise for. You're funny when you're cranky." Jasper said, turning around and placing a kiss on my forehead. I melted into him. This moment was bliss. But, it was cut short by my stomachs request to be fed. Jasper took his cue and served my breakfast up and I sat at the kitchen counter, patting the seat beside me as usual.
"So, seeming as I have your undivided attention, what's happening with everything?" I said after a few minutes.
"As you know, you haven't patrolled for a couple of weeks now, but that's not just because of Maria. The military are keeping things under wraps on their own. In fact, they haven't seen a fleshy for a few days now."
"Fleshy?" I asked, cocking my eyebrow.
"Just a name I came up with for the flesh eaters. It'll catch on." He said, winking.
"I bet it will." I said, giggling a little.
"Carlisle believes the problem is under wraps. There are a few strays, but most of the vampires took care of the problem. Once they realised the fleshy's were competition, they took it upon themselves to help reserve the human population."
"Except Hitler's cousin and her merry band of fucktard's." I laughed. Hard. Jasper joined me. I must admit, I was hilarious.
I took my plate to the sink and washed it, following Jasper out onto the front porch for a smoke.
"So, are we safe enough now to get out of the military lock down?" I asked.
"Give it a week, max. I suppose they are just taking precautions. They wouldn't want any more humans getting infected by strays."
"What about Maria?" I asked, looking Jasper in they eye.
"I'm still unsure on that. She knows we are here, and that there are other vampires guarding the other safe havens for the humans. But, I know her. I expect she'll attack soon enough, but her numbers are dwindling. When she does finally get around to attacking, it'll be swift for us. The pack are on board, too. Jake came yesterday to tell us they'll keep an eye out for when they do come, incase any newborns get past us, but they won't join in on the fight. We don't need them." Jasper said, smiling.
"If Jake was here, why didn't I get to see him?" I asked.
"Your were preoccupied." Jasper said with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh... Fair enough." I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"So, Christmas is coming up in a few weeks. What would you like to do? We can get a big Christmas tree and invite Charlie around." Jasper said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and leading me inside to sit in front of the already lit fire.
"Nothing fancy. No presents either." I said seriously. Jasper winked.
"Never. And I'll make sure everyone sticks to it."
"Good. Well, I guess I could just cook a roast for Charlie and I. Oh, and Sue. I almost forgot."
"So, it's settled then. Nothing fancy, no presents, and you can ring Charlie and invite him and Sue over." He said, entwining our fingers together.
"Now, that just leaves one thing left to decide." I said, running my fingers through his dirty blonde locks.
"And what's that?"
"Us." I whispered. "What do we do now that everything is winding down, I mean, with the fleshy's? And once Maria is dealt with, we are free." I said, smiling. Joy overcame me at the thought of finally having my happily ever after with Jasper.
"How about we just wing it? We'll do whatever we feel like doing."
"Sounds good to me."
"Good." Jasper said standing up, pulling me up with him. "I need to check in with Alice and Peter, but I won't be long. I have a feeling everything will be coming to a head soon." He kissed me tenderly, ghosting his thumb over my cheek.
"I'll see you soon." He whispered, disappearing at vampire speed. I felt good. Great, actually. But, I didn't want to get ahead of myself. Jasper was planning something. I'm not sure how I knew, I just had a feeling. I wonder if I could ask Alice...
"Not a chance!" Alice sang, whisking past me with Garrett in tow, I'm guessing they were heading out to see Jasper.
"But, Alice! Please?" I whined.
"She's not going to give it up. She's having too much fun." Garrett chuckled.
I resigned myself to the plush couch and rang Charlie to invite him and Sue to Christmas dinner, which he happily agreed, asking that Jasper and I join him on the Res after for a drink. He seemed happy... Maybe a little too happy for Charlie. Something was up, but I was left out of the loop with no way of finding out anything. Emmett plonked himself down on the couch beside me.
"Hey little sis!" He said, messing my hair with his huge bear hand. I swatted his hand away.
"Not much, but, I was wondering, would you like to help me find a Christmas tree?"
"Sure! Now?" He asked with that boyish smile of his and joy in his eyes.
"Why not?" I said, throwing my hands above me head.
"Sounds good to me, let's go!" He said, lifting me over his shoulder, and running to the garage. We took the jeep and spent the next couple if hours looking for a tree. We found one and took it home, Emmett managing to swiftly placing the tree in the living room.
"Oh, I forgot about the decorations." I said, frowning.
"Not to worry, dear, we can make some." Esme came in with box full of colourful bits and pieces.
"That sounds great." I said, sitting next to Esme on the floor.
"We did it when I was human. We always made our own Christmas decorations." She smiled, looking like she got caught back in time.
"We did, too." Said Emmett, sitting with us on the floor and joining in. We sat in comfortable silence for the most part, enjoying the normality of decorating the tree. Charlotte and Rose had joined in, too. We were done by the time the sun was setting. Jasper joined me in front of the tree, commenting how good it looked. He said he would get the twinkle lights out the next day and put them up on the front porch.
"Any news on Hitler's cousin yet?" I asked, walking hand in hand with him to the kitchen to grab a quick bite to eat.
"Yes." He smiled. "First week of the new year, although she hasn't picked a day yet."
"It seems that we have at the least a month to prepare then?" I asked.
"At the very least, yes. Everyone is ready, we just play the waiting game now." He said, pulling out my chair for me.
"I'm glad. It means we can relax, if only for a little while."
"Not completely." He shrugged, getting me a bowl of soup to heat up. "But, we won't need to train so much or be on our toes constantly. We just need to watch Alice's visions and Peter will warn us if his knower goes off."
"Good." I nodded, feeling a bit more relaxed. Jasper smiled a thousand watt smile at me, handing me my bowl if soup.
"I'm not hungry for that." I said, pushing it away.
"You are," Jasper chuckled. "At least, you'll be famished by the time I'm done with you if you don't eat." He said, winking at me with that cheeky grin.
"Message received." I saluted, and got stuck into my soup, eating as fast as I could. I was whisked up to our bedroom as soon as my spoon hit the empty bowl. I couldn't wait till Maria made her move. The sooner, the better.