Jessica found an appreciation for watching the snow falling from the penthouse windows. Being able to enjoy the sight snow while warm was something she never wanted to take for granted. The Cullens were considerate enough to keep the heating on for her even as they had no need for it. And they were spoiling her with the food.

After a semester of subsidizing on junk food and whatever she could make with Riley at the last minute, the amazing dishes Esme would make for her every day were unbelievable. When she wasn't being fed at home, Edward took her to eat around New York's never-ending restaurants. She was worried she would end up with holiday weight she would have to burn off and she had no time for that. She would have to go on early morning runs and sacrifice sleep.

She did enjoy spending time with Edward's family. The Cullens all had the same trait of having a bottomless pit of stories. Some were sad, some were happy, and some were downright weird. Some were about meeting famous people in history or about how Edward's old cigarette habit accidentally caused a fire alarm to go off during a bizarre visit to the White House.

"First of all, glad that you kicked that smoking habit even if you can't get lung cancer," she told Edward. "Second, why were you in the White House?"

"I met John during World War II as a battle medic. We were stationed at the Solomon Islands together," Carlisle explained. "We became friends. And he later invited me to attend a dinner at the White House. I brought Esme and Edward with me."

"You personally knew JFK?" Jessica couldn't believe it and turned to Edward and smacked him in the arm. He grimaced. "You said you never met him!"

"He was probably too embarrassed since it led to him being tackled by Secret Service after his cigarette break caused the fire alarms to go off in the building," Esme remarked. "Jackie was gracious about the whole thing. She said it happened all the time. Everyone used to smoke back in those days."

Edward ran his fingers through his auburn hair gingerly. "Not my finest moment. We were never invited back."

Thoroughly interested, Jessica asked Carlisle, "If you were at the Solomon Islands, how did you end up at Manzanar?"

"I was called back as they needed doctors at the concentration camps," Carlisle explained. "To my surprise, one of the detainees was this woman named Noshiko, a kitsune. She was the first one I'd ever met."

Carlisle looked lost in thought as he continued, "I had known about the Children of the Moon but I didn't know there were more creatures that existed. She told me about witches and how magic was real. And it was surreal to realize that there were others hiding in plain sight like I was, like we are."

"We met witches over the years but they had a dislike for vampires," Alice pointed out. "I don't know why. Maybe they didn't like that we didn't have a pulse."

Jasper responded, "That does tend to disturb people, darling."

Edward added, "Along with our urges to kill humans."

Jessica quipped, "As the human in the room I have to say that we take it as a personal offense when somebody bites us and drain us like a juice box."

Edward rolled his eyes and she gave him a look. "Good to know."

Jessica looked over to Jasper and Alice. "Anymore good stories?"

"There was that time Edward met Elizabeth Taylor," Alice supplied with an impish smile. "She was interested in him and he was his usual awkward self…"


Jessica tried to keep up with her Stanford friends. She texted "Happy holidays!" to all of them. Stiles told her about that the ghost of the Axe Man was terrorizing the city and now everybody was playing jazz throughout the night in fear of being the next victim. The witches were working on an exorcism which was extra difficult as the Axe Man had been a witch and they needed precautions so he didn't keep coming back.

Jessica was beginning to think Stiles was making up all the stories about their lives in New Orleans. There were too many insane stories to all happen in one place. Either New Orleans was the most dangerous city in the world or Stiles was fibbing. She had lived in a small town with vampires and werewolves and her life there hadn't been as crazy as the fantastical tales of Stiles Stilinski.

She borrowed Edward's laptop and was on Skype with Riley who was babysitting his pack of nieces and nephews. He was trying to make s'mores with them in the kitchen and they kept trying to crush graham crackers or throwing them at each other. Riley kept his cool as he tried to keep in control of the chaotic energy around him. Jessica watched it all with visible amusement.

"You're laughing now, Jessica, but just you wait," Riley warned. "Someday you'll have your own kids driving you up the wall and we'll see how you fare."

Jessica raised both eyebrows at him. "Who said I was having kids?"

Riley blinked and asked her, "You don't want any?"

"Never really thought about it."

She didn't hate kids. She'd just been ambivalent towards them. She didn't mind babysitting Emily from time to time but there was the caveat that Emily wasn't her kid. The thought of having kids felt like a faraway concept. She was only eighteen for Pete's sake and she was dating a vampire who was sterile for all intents and purposes.

There would be options if she really wanted children. But she wasn't sure if she wanted any. She had no need to have kids. She had career ambitions and life goals she wanted to focus on before even thinking about putting her womb to use.

"Kids can be a handful," Riley smiled at his niece as he helped her make her s'more. "But they're also really cute sometimes."

His niece looked straight into the camera. She looked a lot like Riley with the same thin face and brown eyes. She had to be about four-years-old. She asked Riley, "Who is she?"

"That's Jessica, Uncle Riley's friend," he explained patiently. "She's in New York. Do you know where that is?"

She pointed to the left and Riley shook his head, smiling.

"No, Chloe. Other way," She switched and pointed to the right and he nodded in approval. "That's right. New York is at the opposite of where we are."

"That's far," His nephew who was like a mini Riley except for the darker hair remarked. "Why is your girlfriend so far away?"

Jessica nearly choked on air. Riley was flustered, his face a bright pink. He met Jessica's shocked face and they could each other's discomfort through the screens. He turned back to his nephew.

"Austin, Jessica isn't my girlfriend," he tried to clarify. "She's just a friend. We're just friends."

His other niece piped up, "Mommy says all you talk about is that Jessica girl."

Another nephew joined in, "Why isn't she your girlfriend? Don't you think she's pretty, Uncle Riley?"

"I…" He ran his fingers through his brown hair. "I don't…well, yes, I find her pretty but that doesn't mean we're dating."

Austin asked, "What does it mean then?"

"That I might put my head in the oven," Riley laughed nervously and gave Jessica an apologetic look. "I think we should end this call, Jess. We have to finish making the s'mores."

She grasped at the escape with both hands. "Sure. No problem, Riley. I'll talk to you some other time."

Riley gave her that charming infectious smile of his. "Happy New Year, Jess."

"Happy New Year."

She ended the call and the image of Riley surrounding by a brood of little children that looked like him disappeared. She could see him the same way in ten years or so. Riley was the type to get married and have kids. He wouldn't question whether he ever wanted to be a father or if it was the right thing for him. He wouldn't question whether he would regret never having any kids like she did.


Edward took her ice skating that morning at Bryant Park along with his siblings. Rosalie and Emmett were back from their weekend away and Jessica tried her best to ignore the moody blonde. Alice was the best at ice skating and glided on the ice like a winter sprite. She could've been a talented figure skater in another life.

Jessica had only gone ice skating a handful of times. She managed to stay on her feet with Edward effortlessly skating backwards as if mocking her. She tried to chase him to push him over but he evaded her. She nearly slipped and he caught her with his quick reflexes, keeping them both upright.

She pouted up at him. "Don't say a word."

He mimed zipping his mouth shut but he was still giving her that insufferable smug look. She pulled away from him and concentrated on keeping her balance as she skated forward. He wordlessly followed her. She took the time to look at the people around her and the view of the skyscrapers surrounding them.

She had watched this very same place in movies all her life and she was there in real life. How was any of this possible? She slowed down and Edward caught up to her. She took his hand in hers and they skated around the rink together easily.

Jessica had been the most excited to watch the ball drop at the Rockefeller Center. It was the hundred-year anniversary and they had a giant LED crystal ball made. It was only going to be her and Edward as the rest of the Cullens weren't interested on spending their night around a crowd of humans. Edward wasn't too excited about it either but he was braving through it for her.

She'd dressed warmly and Edward and they made their way to 44th Street and Broadway to get inside the venue. Edward told her that Carlisle had witnessed the first official "ball drop" and the fireworks show back in 1907. Jessica wished she'd been into photography like Eric so she could capture every moment. Her phone's camera was blurry at best and wouldn't do the sights any justice. At least she would have her memories.

The countdown was mostly standing around and watching the screen of the Times Square building. She and Edward got her some dinner before they went back to their chilly vigil. It wasn't easy to get back in and out of Times Square so they stayed where they were and Edward tried to distract her by telling her stories of old New York. It brought to mind that the end of another year hardly mattered to him as it was one of many for an immortal.

Unwanted thoughts started crowding her mind and she remembered the conversation with Rosalie about how she would grow old and die and Edward would keep on living. She would be a footnote in his extended existence. And then there was Riley asking her if she didn't want kids and she could almost picture it – Riley as a father with a chaotic bunch of kids that he loved dearly and she could be their mother, she could be the wife who would grow old and die with him. The normalcy of it all beckoned to her.

Edward let out a wounded hiss and panic rushed through her as she realized she hadn't been doing a good job of keeping him from reading those thoughts. They were dangerous and she'd been too afraid to even give them space in her head lest they become reality. These doubts had been festering in the darkest parts of her subconscious for months waiting for her to acknowledge them and she did not know to fight them. She did not know how to give voice to explain to Edward why she was even having them.

Edward closed his eyes, swallowing before he asked, "Do you really want to be with me, Jessica?"

"Of course I do," she replied with near desperation. "I love you."

"But do you want to be with me even if it means you'll lose everything else?" he pointed out. "A normal life where you have kids and grow old, a life where you never have to keep secrets and hide…"

A life he wanted before the choice was taken from him. He confessed to her during his last birthday, maudlin and contemplative, that he'd wondered and yearned for that human life he'd never have again. He wondered about becoming a father and if he would've been a good one. He wondered about growing old and dying after a life of regularity, ignorant of the existence of vampires. He told her of that he could never fully stop blaming Carlisle for taking all of that away from him and how he never wanted to do the same to another person.

She confessed, "I don't even know if I want any of that or if I'm just being silly."

"Silly? There's nothing silly about the choice between life and death," he retorted. "I am a death sentence. You'll waste your life away being with me or worse you'll want to become like me."

"What's wrong with being like you?"

She tried to picture it, eternity with him. She would never grow old or get sick. She would have all the time in the world to study and research and learn. She would never have to worry about losing him and they would have each other until the sun burned out.

"It's not that romantic. There's death, pain, and a never-ending hunger," Edward remarked. "If I could be human again, I would take it in a heartbeat."

"But you can't. The only choice here is whether I should become like you or not."

"That's not an option."

"It is for me," she insisted. "If I want to become one, will you try to stop me?"

His jaw clenched and nodded. "You don't know what you're saying."

"Maybe not but the choice would always be mine to make. And if you didn't want to be the one to turn me, you're not the only one of your kind."

"Jessica," His tone was grave. "That would be suicide. You'd be throwing your life away."

"So I could be with you," She stared into his golden eyes and willed him to understand. "And you say you love me but you balk at the idea of having me forever. Am I just your human experiment until I die and you can move on?"

"No! That's not-" He let out a low growl in frustration. "It's not like you're the one to talk. You were just thinking about marrying Riley and having his babies."

"I thought it for a second," she retorted. "And I was having some doubts because I don't know where I stand with you."

"What? You know where you stand with me. I love you."

"Then act like it."

"Fine," He bit out through his teeth, the anger visible on his face. "Whatever you want, Jessica."

He turned away from her and she demanded, "Where are you going?"

"Making the choice for you."

She was about to shout at him and not caring of the people around them when the clock struck midnight. The LED ball glowed a brilliant white as it dropped and the crowd around them cheered. The fireworks exploded in the sky in a kaleidoscope of colors, nearly blinding her. She tried to find Edward through the crowd but he was gone.