A/N: Whoops. This is very long. But you hear a little more about Hensley. :)

~.~

Getting up in the morning was the real kicker. Hensley was tired and leaving the warm covers was just not in her agenda. Jasper left her early so he could go home and get his own vehicle to take her to school. That made the day even more unfortunate.

She got breakfast when Red got home from overnight. His eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep, nearly matching his hair. He was not appreciative when Hensley informed him of this. In fact, he seemed a little grumpy about it.

"It smells funny in here." Red announced when Hensley was done picking at him. The girl rolled her eyes at his unsurprising comment. Red had an incredibly heightened sense of smell, making him one of the best trackers the Agency had to offer. She wasn't surprised he could smell Jasper in the apartment.

Still, she had to be a little difficult with him, "You smell funny."

Anderson chuckled, steeping his tea while leaning against the cupboards. It was amusing to see Red slowly come unhinged.

"Seriously! What is that?!" The tracker snapped, sniffing around the apartment, following Jasper's scent into their bedroom. "Hensley it's all over your bed! Did you change perfume without telling me again?"

Hensley snickered, unable to contain herself. Kaufmann joined in, but warned her, "I ain't takin' the fall for this." She was alright with that. She could handle it.

Red strolled back into the kitchen; eyes narrowed at Hensley. "Well?"

"Don't know what you're talking about."

The other two boys watched in silent anticipation, wondering if Red was tired enough to let it go or if he'd fight Hensley for it. Most of the time Red knew better than to mess with Hensley. He was much more evenly matched against the other two boys, but Hensley and her vampirism was a bit too much.

"Her boyfriend came over." Anderson ratted her out before things got serious. Kaufmann shot him a dirty look.

"He's not-" Hensley went to defend herself and stopped short. "Alright, fine. He's my boyfriend."

Anderson groaned, "Dude, I was kidding. We've been here like a week."

"It's been like two months!" She corrected, worried about Anderson's poor sense of time. In all fairness, she wondered where the hell the time went. It did kind of feel like just yesterday she had been unpacking and starting school.

A small, evil part of her brain wondered how many weeks she'd have left. Hensley was determined to ignore the worries of being transferred and instead focus on enjoying the time she did have with Jasper and her father. She had made it longer in Port Angeles than she had in Tennessee.

"What are you working Saturday?" Hensley asked Kaufmann as they finished eating breakfast. It was more to make conversation than anything. She knew they didn't work the same shift and therefore it really didn't matter too much what Kaufmann had.

Kaufmann smirked, "The corner of main and 7th. Why, you wanna come see me while you're waiting for your boyfriend to put out?"

She should've known better. Teasing Red had put Kaufmann back in a flippant mood. "I was actually going to pay Carlisle to castrate you."

"Ha ha. Seriously though, I got bright. Which is fine, I guess. Why?"

Bright was the slang term for the first shift, which meant Kaufmann worked 6am to 2pm. "Just wondering if you'd be around or needed anything from the store. I work night, so I was going to town in the morning."

"Think I'm good. What are you doin' for night? Watch?"

"Yeah." Hensley was not excited about that. It was damn boring, especially if you didn't have a good partner to keep you entertained. Hopefully she got someone good or something cool happened. She could use a little excitement in her life.

~.~

Emmett thoroughly inspected Lexi's lunch as she sat down at the table. He gave her a nod of approval once he saw that it was a full meal and not M&M's. Hensley wondered if she could pay him to let that go. "Welcome to our table."

"I've been here before." Lexi opened her milk and took a sip, "What's up with Edweird? I see he's over talking to Bella again."

"Who cares." Rosalie muttered. Hensley looked over at Jasper to see if she could get some more insight on that can of bitterness. She could not.

"You know," Emmett changed the subject, "I think I should get a present because I introduced you."

Jasper leaned into Lexi's shoulder, "He thinks he deserves something."

Alice scrunched her face up, "Technically, I introduced them."

"Shut up, Alice." Emmett playfully glared at her.

"See, if he talked to you like that, he'd be dead." Jasper told her again.

Hensley nodded, leaning over to Jasper, "I could kill Emmett in…1.375 seconds."

"Impressive." Jasper complimented, eyes focused on his older brother, "I think I could do it in 0.85."

"You're stronger."

"I'm right here!" Emmett waved at the couple. He thought they were kidding…but you never really knew with them two. Emmett had only known Jasper for a few years, but he knew enough of the blond to know that he was a force to be reckoned with when it came to fighting. Obviously, he was a good fighter from his past. Em figured Lexi was a good fighter too. She had to be in order to do the military thing. Together, they'd be quite a power. Speaking of power…. "We're playing baseball this weekend, yeah?"

"Baseball?" That caught Hensley's attention. She'd never heard of baseball before. "What's that?"

All of the Cullen's stared at her in disbelief…or like she was stupid. Hensley lifted her shoulders, waving her hand at them, "What? I'm a sheltered child. What is it?"

The family took turns explaining pieces of the game: the rules, the teams, and why they couldn't definitively say they could play. If there was a chance at being able to though, Hensley was all in. It sounded like fun and if she aimed right, she could totally hit Emmett with the baseball. If she hit it, would his skin crack? Would he be like a little paper target and have a hole punched through him? That would be amusing.

"You gotta work Friday night?" Jasper asked her.

"Yeah, after school. Then I work night shift on Saturday and Sunday."

Emmett scrunched up his nose. "Sounds disgusting."

"Would you want to stay over Friday night? Could come over after work?" Jasper ignored his brother, nervously waiting Lexi's response. He didn't think she would say no because she didn't want to…he hoped that wasn't the case.

Thankfully, Lexi looked at him like he stupid, "Um, yes? Thought you'd never ask."

Cooper instantly popped up, knowing where new-Jasper's thought process would go, "Out of curiosity, exactly how soon could he have started that arrangement? I'd like to know so we can tease the ever-loving hell outta him and watch him kick himself."

Somehow Cooper knew exactly where Jasper's thoughts were because damn if he wasn't kicking himself for not trying to get Lexi to stay over sooner.

"I'm not answering that question." Lexi told Cooper. "I don't need you or Jasper being meaner than you already are."

"Can I be meaner than I already am?" Emmett asked, raising a hand.

"No."

~.~

Unsurprisingly, Jasper was the first one to greet her in the driveway with a tight hug. She loved coming back to him. As soon as their skin connected it was like everything else melted away. Any overthinking, any worry was just…gone.

"I missed you." She told him truthfully. It sucked living so far away from him in an enclosed, guarded building where he couldn't just visit whenever she wanted him to.

Hensley felt him smile against the top of her head, "I missed you too. You're here now though and I have you for over 24 hours just to myself."

"And me!" Emmett called from the garage, sending out a wink and a thumbs up.

Jasper sighed, "Well, myself and my annoying siblings."

She giggled against his chest, "I'll gladly fight them off for just a bit of alone time."

"How prepared are you to argue with Carlisle? He's already forewarned me that my bedroom door stays open all weekend."

"Oh Jesus." She laughed, pulling away to grab her bag out of the Jeep, "Well, I guess we'll see how fussy he gets in front of me."

"She says that like you'll be less fussy." Cooper laughed from inside. Less than a second later, "Ahhh you're too slow old ma-" A slap. "Fuck!"

Hensley snickered at the banter. This was going to be an interesting weekend.

Esme was the second member to greet her when she came in, pulling the girl in for a tighter hug than Jasper had greeted her with. She gushed about how excited she was that Hensley was staying over this weekend. The girl was unsure what she did to receive so much excitement and warm feelings from Esme, but she wasn't going to complain. After fearing for days that Esme would feel the exact opposite about her, she was not going to complain.

Jasper successfully evaded his siblings taking Lexi away, but not Carlisle. "Drop your things in Jasper's room and then come back. We need to discuss rules."

Emmett booed as Jasper took her to his room. Jasper felt the same way.

They went back downstairs to listen to Carlisle lay out his long list of rules: No being alone together in rooms with the door closed, no being in any bed together unless one of them was above the covers, no kissing, no touching except to hold hands (how gracious of him), no joking about sex, no talking about the two of them having sex, no having sex, no showering or bathing together, no being in the bathroom together, no changing in front of each other, no taking any clothes off for any reason other than to stop a major bleed in front of each other, clothes must be worn at all times, clothes being undergarments, pants or shorts, and a shirt, and finally any other member of the house who knew of such behavior and made no means to stop it faces the same punishment as Lexi and Jasper will for breaking the rules.

Once he was finished Emmett stared at him with a bewildered expression. He and Rose had broken all of those rules within 3 months of dating. "Thank God you weren't this uptight when Rose and I were first getting together."

Carlisle gave him a disappointed look, "I'd like to do the same thing now as I did back then: pretend this wasn't happening."

"But ya couldn't because Em and Rose broke houses." Cooper prodded the situation from his seat on the stairs.

While Carlisle, Cooper, and Emmett bantered back and forth, Esme took a seat next to Hensley and grabbed her hand, I hope this is how this works. I'm taking Carlisle out hunting later tonight for a few hours, so you'll have some peace and quiet. He'll come around eventually.

Hensley smiled at her in thanks. Esme gave her hand a squeeze before trying to stop Carlisle from having to relive Emmett's vampire youth. Hensley had never known what came from having a motherly figure in your life, but apparently it was someone to help wear down your overprotective dad. Thank God.

"Okay, first-"

"No." Jasper interrupted Alice, "No, no, no. This is not Alice and Lexi time. This is Jasper and Lexi time."

Alice gave him a disappointed look, "Did you not listen to anything her father just told you?"

"Alice."

"She's only been over one other time. At this rate it'll be years before I ever get to talk to my sister. You hog her all day at school, it's my turn."

Jasper stiffened next to Hensley, "The hell-"

"Hey!" Hensley quickly interjected, "Let's just chill, we have all weekend…ish. I'm sure Jasper will get sick of me at some point."

"Impossible," He muttered, pulling her closer to him so he could hug her.

Alice gestured to Jasper, "See!"

"Alice, we talked about this, school don't count. Let him have the weekend with his girl." Cooper spoke up from behind them. He was scrolling through his phone, looking like one of those bored teenagers Hensley used to see in magazines. The Agency had been reluctant to give Hensley and her brothers such technology, but in case of danger off the job, it was necessary. Aside from texting and calling, she didn't really have much use for it and therefore wasn't sure what the Agency was so worried about or what Cooper was so interested in.

Alice huffed impatiently but let the subject drop. Hensley wouldn't have minded spending time with Jasper's siblings. She definitely wanted some time with Jasper first though. This was really the first time they got to spend time together just relaxing and not at school or researching their strange relationship.

She looked over at Jasper with a smirk, "Wanna go push the boundaries of Carlisle's rules?"

Jasper chuckled, "Absolutely."

Hand in hand, they headed back upstairs to his bedroom. She pushed his door, so it wasn't technically closed because it wasn't in the latch but was basically closed. Jasper smirked at her efforts, "This is all you when Carlisle gets upset."

"I'll gladly take credit for this." Her voice was quiet as he took her in his arms and pulled her in for a hug. It would've been the perfect time for a slow and sensual kiss. Being so close to him alone and thinking about their lips locked together sent her heart racing faster than normal.

"Jasper! Don't make me kill you!" Carlisle bellowed from upstairs. He didn't need to; he could've easily been heard in a normal tone. Hensley supposed that yelling got his point across better.

Jasper sighed and slowly threw his head back, "This is going to be incredibly annoying."

"I'll show you incredibly annoying." Her father teased back. Hensley could picture his cheeky smirk.

She stifled a giggle while Esme chastised the vampire upstairs. Vampire hearing was going to be bad in two ways now.

"You had mentioned fighting him?"

"Hmm, I did mention that didn't I?" The words sounded sexual coming out of her mouth and she blushed. She hadn't meant it that way. Hopefully Jasper didn't take it that way.

If he did, he didn't show it, pulling away lightly to face the room, "So. Would you like the desk chair or the bed above the covers? We'll, I suppose you could be under the covers as long as I was above them." She heard Carlisle approve of Jasper's phrasing and rolled her eyes.

Hensley took his hand and pulled him to the bed with herl. The way she pulled him left her against the bed with him pressed against her. It hadn't been her intention and she blushed further, afraid she was looking like a horny maniac. "Sorry, I- that's not…." She struggled to get words out, eventually sighing and giving up.

He laughed in response and pressed his lips to her forehead. Her heart squeezed at this. It was the first time he kissed her. His lips were cold and quick against her skin, but she relished the contact.

"I thought I said to leave the door open?" Carlisle's mock-scolding voice broke the pair apart, Jasper taking a quick couple steps back.

"It was open." Hensley told him innocently. He gave her a look and that stupid sassy smirk she had missed so much the last couple years (not anymore), leaving the door wide open as he left.

Jasper stifled a laugh as soon as Carlisle was gone.

They spent most of the evening holed up in his room talking. He complied with Carlisle's request for the most part. The longer they talked uninterrupted, the braver he got, scooting Lexi closer so she was resting her head on his chest. He wasn't exactly sure if that was allowed, but as long as they didn't get caught then it was probably fine.

"I feel like it's hard to know what to study. I don't have much experience out in the real world. How did you decide what study?"

"I liked history. And philosophy was interesting. Reason, existence…just understanding the living. Or the partially living? I studied that during a darker time in life."

Lexi smiled at him and rubbed the tops of his hand with her thumbs. One thing he loved about her was how she always looked in his eyes when talking to him. Most people seemed to stare at his features, most notably his scars, which made him uncomfortable. To her, it was like they didn't exist. He knew she saw them; she'd asked about them when they first started dating, but they didn't seem to bother her.

"I guess psychology has always been interesting. Why people do what they do. But what do you do with that?"

"You learn with it."

She frowned, "But is that enough? Aren't I supposed to do something with my life?"

"What am I doing with my life?"

"Making innocent girls fall in love with you?"

Jasper snorted at her comment, "Hilarious. Lexi, I think you've done more with your life than most 17-year-olds would dream of. Why not take some time to enjoy your freedom a little?"

"It feels…weird. I've never not been doing something before. I've never not been working and saving people's lives…or taking people's lives, I guess. It might be nice though to relax. Not monitor the world, not worry about aliens…."

"Aliens?"

"There's a reason we don't go into space much anymore." Lexi shrugged nonchalantly. As if aliens were totally normal. He smiled more to himself than to her. What different, yet similar worlds they came from.

"Anyway," she continued, "I suppose it's hard to do anything super fancy when you don't age. Don't want to draw too much attention."

Jasper nodded. It was one of the harder parts of their existence. Moving around, trying not to get recognized by humans who just happen to be in the same place. It was one of the reasons why they tried not to get too close to anyone. That and the obvious. "You don't age?"

"Nope. I haven't aged in 10 years. We're pretty sure I'll stay this way forever, but I guess you never know. Not much is known about half vampires. And by not much, I mean nothing."

"I remember Carlisle being nervous when you were first born. He wasn't sure how much time he'd have with you."

She looked off in the distance, remembering herself what her younger years were like, "I grew really fast at first. I was full grown by the time I was 7."

"7? That's insane. No wonder he was so panicked. You're sure you're not aging anymore though?" He was trying not to think about it.

"Not that we know of? Whether I'll start aging again who knows. But so far, I've been the same."

He nodded slowly. He wasn't going to think of it. He wasn't going to. "You can change though? Physically?"

"Sure. My muscle tone has changed with my training. I bleed every month unfortunately."

Still not thinking about it. She could probably still live forever even though her body allows her to change. She would live forever. "Are you susceptible to venom? If a vampire were to bite you, would you change?"

"I'm not sure! We've never tried it."

He would try it. He would do it if he had to. He would do anything if he had to.

"Can I ask you a question?" A nervousness radiated from her, and he wanted nothing more than to stop it. He didn't want her to feel nervous around him ever.

His grip tightened on her hand in an encouraging way, "Of course. You can ask me anything."

"Do you think this will fade one day? Do you think there will be a day where we don't feel pain or each other's sadness?"

Jasper looked down at their hands laced together. They were the same temperature now from being connected for so long. He looked back up into her eyes so full of wonder. So many things those eyes have seen. So many awful things. Yet they sat there in front of him, who'd seen just as many if not more awful things and looked up at him with such love.

"I hope this never goes away."

~.~

Edward rolled his eyes from the island he was standing next to, "I'm still surprised you're fine with this." The comment was clearly directed at Rosalie, who was not excited about Bella but had no issues with Lexi joining the family.

"She's vampire." Rosalie snapped, "She's one of us, not a threat like the human is."

"Don't fight." Esme interjected, turning to give her children a stern look, "There's no point in discussing it further."

Jasper knocked on the archway of the kitchen, a curious Alexandria beside him.

"Hello, hello! We have chicken alfredo almost done." Esme greeted the two. They'd been in Jasper's room all afternoon talking, but the smell of food encouraged them to come investigate. Well, more Hensley than Jasper.

Emmett nodded, "You're welcome. It was my idea."

Hensley thanked Emmett while moving to stand near the island with Edward. Jasper was close behind her, still wary about her being near the family. Too many people focusing on her made him anxious.

Is it weird seeing them cook? She asked the mind reader.

Edward gave her a patient smile. Almost as if he were tolerating her conversation just to be polite. "It's a little weird. I'm surprised they're doing as well as they are. Even though we can eat we never choose to. Just a waste of time if it doesn't help our thirst, so we never do."

You've never even tried just for the fun of it?

"Not in many years."

Emmett suspiciously looked between Lexi and Edward. "What's going on?"

"Alexandria is graciously allowing me into her thoughts."

"So, you're having a mind reading conversation?" Emmett slammed his stirring spoon down on the counter, "Man, this is some bullshit. I wanna read minds."

Hensley reached one hand out to him across the island and one to Edward.

"You can do it! You can give it to me?" Emmett eagerly took her hand. Edward was more reluctant but complied.

No, she thought to him, but if you both take my hand and open your minds, you can hear each other's thoughts.

"Think something." Emmett demanded of Edward, not listening to Hensley at all.

Edward smirked. Emmett's an idiot.

Emmett's face fell in annoyance as Edward and Hensley laughed at him. "Fuck you guys."

Jasper closed the gap between him and Lexi then, placing his hand on top of hers as he stood behind her. See, he told her, you fit in perfectly already.

She leaned back against him as a response. Admitting he was right wasn't exactly something she wanted to do, even if she knew it.

"Hopefully this is good," Esme broke the silence, "we haven't used the kitchen in a while."

"Guess this means I have to learn to cook things." Jasper commented with a grimace.

"Yeah, old man," Hensley nudged him, "You probably have never used," She gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, "an electric stove."

Somewhere in the house, Cooper chuckled at her antics. Hilarious because he was older than Jasper.

"I'll have you know I got curious one day shortly after Alice and I joined the family and tried boiling pasta."

"And how did that turn out?"

Jasper frowned, remembering how the water boiled over and created a bunch of smoke and muck on the stove. He burned himself in the process of trying to clean up the spilt water and among the chaos had forgotten about his noodles, leaving them way overdone and mush, "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Speaking of pasta," Esme gestured to Emmett's pot.

Emmett apparently had forgotten about it, muttering an "Oh shit." while checking on the noodles.

"That's what happened to me." Jasper sympathized.

"Among other things." Edward grinned. Hensley liked seeing Edward at home teasing his brothers versus at school. He loosened up quite a bit in the presence of his family.

"Shut up." Jasper eyed the younger boy, trying to physically shield Lexi from what Edward could verbally tell her.

Dinner was very much the same. Cooper and Alice joined the family just in time for the meal. According to Esme, they'd never really sat down for a family dinner before, but the boys quickly took the time to jab at each other.

"Hmm, Emmett has by far broken the most things." Cooper shrugged, answering Lexi's question. They had been talking about the boys fighting in the house and how it was now forbidden.

"But he's the youngest?" Lexi countered, confused.

Jasper shrugged, shaking his head with a grimace at some memory Henlsey did not have. "Yeah, but you didn't see Emmett and Rosalie."

"We destroyed a house." Emmett said cheerfully. Esme did not look as cheerful.

"The sex was that bad?"

Jasper and Cooper snorted. Carlisle was less than pleased at the turn this conversation took, muttering something about God helping him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Emmett glared at her, putting down his fork as though he might physically fight her. Jasper sent a steady glare his way, one that was ignored.

Rosalie shook her head, clearly reminiscing and clearly having a different opinion on it than Jasper, "You were a strong newborn."

Hensley gave Edward a very sympathetic look, "I'm sorry for you."

"I'm sorry for me too." He frowned, pushing his plate away.

"Anyway," She changed the subject to one much more favorable. Well, to her anyway, "Cooper, as Jasper's only biological sibling, what embarrassing stories can you tell us?"

"Yes, do tell." Emmett leaned in. It was nice to not be on the receiving end of this conversation.

Cooper sighed, giving Alice a side glance, "I'm not much fun. I don't remember much about us being human."

"Who said you had to be human to do embarrassing shit?"

"Jasper's kinda a downer."

Jasper rolled his eyes, "Have I told you I regret going back for you sometimes?"

Cooper laughed, clearly unfazed by the comment. Hensley assumed it was one Jasper made often.

Though Cooper was technically two years older, Hensley wouldn't have guessed based on looks or personality. Cooper was 23 when he was turned, but looked very youthful with his soft features, lacking the more mature look her father had. As luck would have it, he was a couple inches shorter than Jasper at 6' 1".

He matched Jasper in hair, which he wore a few inches long and pushed back out of his face, and in the bitemarks that covered his arms, neck, and jaw. Though Cooper's marks were far less dense than Jasper's. Hensley wasn't sure how that worked, seeing as she thought she had heard that the brothers had the same past. Cooper also seemed to have more of a carefree attitude towards them, often wearing the sleeves of his shirt pushed up to reveal his forearms or collarless shirts to reveal more of his neck - something Jasper never did.

Hensley had talked to Cooper the least so far, but she could tell that Cooper overall was more untroubled than Jasper. He took more of a casual attitude towards life like Emmett.

"So, nothing then? Nothing funny to share?"

Cooper shrugged, "I've been told if I say anything that he'll rip my arms off and kill me with them. I've seen him to do it to other's so…I ain't tryin' to die."

Hensley rolled her eyes with a dramatic sigh. Clearly Jasper's siblings were not as eager to rat him out. "I thought having siblings meant good stories. These siblings suck." She muttered glumly.

Cooper looked thoroughly offended, "What?"

"I thought older brothers were supposed to tease the shit out of you and it's hilarious for everyone else. But you're kinda lame."

Emmett burst out laughing, "OH man! Right for the jugular!"

Cooper pressed his lips together and frowned at the girl, "So because I don't have embarrassing stories about Jasper, I'm lame?"

"Lame as shit, frankly."

"Have you met Jasper? He's not any fun. How can you have embarrassing stories about someone who ain't fun?"

"I dunno. Jasper has embarrassing stories about you." That was a lie. She hadn't heard a single story about Cooper either, but it furthered her argument, so she went with it. Jasper would back her up.

Emmett's jaw dropped. He stared between Lexi and Cooper with wide, amused eyes. This was the best dinner he'd ever had. Rosalie was equally impressed, "If you don't marry her, I will."

"What about me?"

"When you're as cool as she is we can talk."

Jasper couldn't help but smirk at the conversation. He was elated the family, well except maybe Cooper, liked her too. She fit in so well, as if she should've been there the whole time. How Jasper wished she had been there the whole time. He could only imagine how good life would've been.

After dinner, Carlisle and Esme went out hunting. Carlisle made Edward and Cooper swear that they would watch Jasper and Hensley to ensure they weren't breaking any rules. Esme shook her head and gently rolled her eyes behind her husband. Hensley wondered when her father had gotten so dramatic.

Once Carlisle and Esme were out of earshot Jasper threatened both boys within an inch of their lives if they dared to snitch on him. Jasper's voice was dangerous, a vicious growl mixed with it.

Hensley had only seen that side of Jasper once before, the first time he 'protected' her from Emmett. Part of her was glad she wasn't on the receiving end of that tongue lashing. The other part of her was trying really hard not to be lustful. It was attractive though. The low growl, the commanding presence….

Jasper finished his thorough threat to his brothers and grabbed Hensley by the upper arm, leading her back upstairs. His grip was firm, but not too tight that it hurt or would leave a mark. She wasn't sure how to feel about that either.

The door was promptly closed behind her, and she turned then to look Jasper in the face. He was much more relaxed than he had been when talking to his brothers, his face more amused than menacing.

Jasper quickly closed the space between them and held her as close as he could get her. Hensley was going to do anything but complain. After a few moments, he pulled her to the bed, sitting beside her. One cool hand cupped her face, and he rested his forehead on hers. She tilted up a little to brush their noses together.

"We need to talk about somethin'." Jasper whispered.

Hensley couldn't help the squeeze of anxiety to her heart. Naturally her mind went to all the negative possibilities, despite him having just told her that he hoped the intensity of their connection never diminished.

He picked up on her fear and rubbed her cheek to bring her back from the depths, "Nothing like that. I thought you deserved a story from me."

Jasper was not ready to break her peace with his past. That story was anything but peaceful. He was less nervous to talk about it now that he knew more about Lexi. It shouldn't have been but knowing that she came from a classified military background was comforting in a way. It was easier to explain murder to a fellow murderer rather than a civilian.

Though there was no doubt that Lexi was not the same kind of murderer he was. Clearly, she did her killing for greater good. He did his killing for pleasure.

Survival, Lexi corrected him when he was done with the moderately detailed version of his story. There was no pleasure in killing vampires or humans when you felt their pain as you did it, she told him. Deep down, he knew she wasn't wrong. He had taken no joy in their death. It was kill or be killed. It was kill to survive.

Lexi did not run away screaming from his past. She knew all too well what his past was like. She lived it too.

"What made you wanna be a soldier?" She asked after he had finished his story and she'd had her moments to digest.

"I liked the idea of fighting for something greater. What they don't tell you is what you're really fighting for. Not until you're in it anyway. They told us the north was coming for our land. Coming for our freedom. Coming for our family. What they didn't tell you was whose freedom they were actually coming for.

"I wrote to every man I knew when I realized my mistake. I begged every one of them to steer clear. I told them every excuse they could give the recruiters to make them ineligible for war. I told them every way to avoid the draft that was never spoken aloud."

"Sabotage from the inside out." Hensley whispered. It was impressive, really.

"I tried. I got in contact with a Northern officer. I sent him intel. I sent him battle plans and strategies. I tried so damn hard. I got a group of people and went to towns where raids were going to occur and evacuated people before they got there."

"That's how you got turned. Evacuating a town before it could get raided?"

Jasper nodded.

"You left that part out though. In the beginning."

Jasper seemed nonchalant about it, "I like to make my human life story quick. None of my past is good, but that's a part I'm particularly not happy with."

"How did Cooper become a vampire? How did you two get reunited?" She changed the subject to something that was hopefully happier.

"Pure accident actually. Maria and I had taken some of the newborns hunting in an area near our camp. Cooper recognized me. He was out with his wife shopping for a Christmas present for our eldest brother when he saw me. Stupid idiot came rushing up to me. It took me a few minutes, but I finally did remember him. It didn't take him long to realize something wasn't right though.

"He wouldn't have been changed if Maria hadn't been there. She overheard us and wanted them changed – him and his wife. I was a good fighter, and she figured my brother and his wife would be just as useful. Cooper was very adamant we let his wife go. Said he'd put up a fight if we didn't – as if he could've fought us off.

"I convinced Maria to let her go anyway. I knew she wouldn't be a good fighter and would just get killed after her year was up. Cooper wouldn't have done well with that. That way he got to say his goodbyes and knew that she was living her human life like she was supposed to. That way he got to save her.

"We took him out of town and Maria changed him. She ended up not liking him as much as she liked me but kept him around for fear I turn on her if she killed him. After I met Alice, I felt guilty for leaving Cooper behind, so we went back for him. To this day I swear the only reason he agreed to come with was for Alice."

"That's gotta be nice though? To be able to have him with you?"

Jasper sighed, knowing that Cooper would be able to hear him. Jasper would never hear the end of it. "It's been fine."

Hensley remembered Cooper could hear too and giggled. "Makes sense. Cooper's lame. And Rosalie?"

"Isn't actually related to us. Just a cover story because the three of us look similar."

Hensley nodded. That made sense. Having biological brothers turned was probably a stretch. Three siblings would've been unheard of.

"Would you like a story out of me?" She asked a few minutes later. It was probably only fair that he knew what he was getting into.

"I feel like I know most of the basics. How you came to be and why you're still in with the military anyway. Carlisle had never had such strong emotions before you. So restless and terrified in the beginning; so exultant and euphoric in the end. He missed you terribly."

She softly exhaled, a smile that was almost sad on her lips, "I know. It was hard not to see him for so many years. Not that we would ever say that. Emotions are only used against you in my world."

"Unfortunately, something our worlds shared."

"I can't say too much about what I've been up to," Hensley continued after a few moments. Classifications really got in the way sometimes. "But, I used to be in a more specialized part of the marines. More…outside work, like what my roommates do. Basically, taking out the bad guys. Secretive in that all of us in this group are…unusual. Obviously, I am half vampire. Most of the people there aren't that extreme, but we're all in the same special group because we've undergone testing. All of my roommates have undergone technological testing - mixing technology with the human body. Kaufmann illuded to that the other night.

"I'm coming up on my contract end date, and they know I have no plans to renew, so I got moved out of frontline and testing sections and into something more boring. Like a phase out in a way."

"Why do they make you stay there? If you're almost done and you're not doing fancy things?"

Hensley shrugged, snuggling against Jasper, "They hate me."

He smiled only for her benefit.

"HEY!"

The sound scared Hensley nearly to death. She pushed herself away from Jasper, so she was on the bottom edge of the bed. Adrenaline poured through her veins as her heart surged faster than it had already been naturally beating. Her eyes met her mates for a split second before daring to check the door.

She groaned. Cooper.

The older Hale started laughing hysterically in the doorway at his antics. Close behind him she could hear Emmett doing the same. Her chest tightened for a whole new reason as she hopped off the bed, "You're dead!"

"RUN!" Emmett sobered up quick enough to grab Cooper by the back of the shirt and pull him out of the doorway. The two boys flew down the stairs with Hensley very close behind them. Cooper tugged on the handle to the backdoor once before realizing it had gotten locked. While he fumbled with it for all of a second, Emmett yelled at him to open it.

The slipup was just enough to allow Hensley to catch up to the two and give them both whacks on the back and upper arm. Emmett was used to the sensation of being hit by her and was able to laugh through it, but for Cooper this was entirely new and caused much more anguish than he had ever predicted to come from the small girl.

"You assholes! I can't believe you. Impersonating my father?!" She raised her hand to hit Cooper again, seeing as he was the one who did it.

In return he held his hands up to try and stop her, "Jasper make her stop, Jasper make her stop, Jasper make her stop!"

Jasper was in no rush. He let Lexi get a few more good hits in while his older brother cowered before he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back towards him. This was by far one of the best sights. "Big Bad" Cooper afraid of his 5' 5" tall girlfriend.

Cooper had by far taken the brunt of her wrath and Emmett thought this was the best part of his night. Scaring Lexi AND watching Cooper get beat up for it? Amazing.

"The next time you do it, I'll rip your arms off and beat you with them." Hensley threatened before letting Jasper lead her back upstairs.

"I swear she gets cooler." Rosalie commented from the couch as they left, not even trying to hide her amusement of the situation.

Jasper waited until they were nearly back to his room before letting himself chuckle at the display. It was fascinating to watch her. Judging by her size and human-like qualities no vampire would expect her to be so fierce. A secret weapon. Exactly what her human government had wanted out of her.

There were some moods you couldn't quite recover from. Apparently fighting with your boyfriend's older brothers was one of them. Hensley was still a little tense and shaky from the encounter as much as she didn't want to be. She wanted to go right back to how her and Jasper had been, but her own emotions were betraying her.

Time was also betraying her. It wasn't late per se, but it was no longer early either. A sense of dread filled her as she realized she had to go home tomorrow night for work. Maybe her next research project could be how to convince the agency to let her stay with Jasper instead of living in their apartment complexes. That was a fight, however, that she wasn't sure Carlisle would be in her corner on. He might have been okay with it so he could see her more, but might not have been given the rules he laid out.

Still, between her and Esme, Carlisle could be broken, right? Surely Esme had some sort of leverage on him. Hensley didn't know enough of him to really have any dirt. He was just too good of a person from anything she heard. Decided right after he was changed to never drink people? From anything she heard about being a new vampire that was incredibly difficult if not close to impossible.

When it came to moving away, there was also the issue of her boys. The three men she'd lived with for the last five years. The thought of leaving them behind was hard. As annoying as they could be, they were her brothers of sorts. They had been through hell and back and back again. The things they had seen, the things they had experienced...those things changed a person. Those things brought them together.

She was on a different path though. The boys, with the exception of Anderson, were going to renew or had renewed their contracts already. They enjoyed the work and the structure of the Agency. Hensley didn't. Especially not since Davidson had been hired three years ago. Of all the higher ups, Davidson had been the worst one she encountered. He was arrogant, overly stubborn, and sometimes downright cruel. The rules he had implemented... The boys couldn't be that upset with her for not renewing or wanting to stay there.

And they certainly couldn't be mad at her if they didn't hate Anderson too. Anderson's contract was up at the end of the year. He was turning 18 and had always known that when his birthday came around he was done. Anderson didn't love the group any less. Like Hensley, the work just wasn't for him.

The group often joked that you had to be just a slight psychopath to enjoy what they did.

In any case, non-renewal aside, Hensley doubted the Agency would ever go for something like letting her live with Jasper. It was a battle and a half just to try and get her out to a public school system.

Jasper picked up on her emotion shift instantly. Neither of them had been very talkative since her discussion with Cooper. It seemed that neither of them quite knew what to say.

A few minutes in though, and Jasper was worried. Anxiety filled her moments before it did him and he was desperately trying to uncover why. Cooper would never hurt her. He hoped that Lexi knew he would defend her until his body went up in flames. It didn't matter if Cooper was his brother.

He remembered what she said to him when they first started dating: just ask the question. Prying wasn't really something he was interested in, but he was curious. What if he did something wrong?

Deciding to wait a few more minutes before asking, he held her just a touch closer to try and push the negativity away.

The clock flashed by six more numbers, and he broke, "Are you okay?" The silence punctured, Lexi quickly glanced up at him like he'd woken her up.

Her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink, "Yeah, sorry. Just thinking about how I could convince the government to let me live here."

Relief. The exact opposite of what he expected to come from this.

"How can I help? Who do I need to argue with?"

She half-heartedly giggled at his comment, "You're cute. It's quite a process. I think my best bet would be to wait until the end of this year. Anderson's contract is up the last day of December, so it might be best to push the issue at the same time."

End of December. That was so very far away. Could he wait that long? To be fair, the original timeline for her living with him had been after graduation, at least in his mind. By those standards, she was actually closer to living with him than he'd thought. He could live with that.

~.~

Carlisle had mixed feelings about returning home and finding Jasper and Lexi in bed together.

"Oh stop." His wife whispered while he stared at the pair who were snuggled up together. Carlisle was certain there was no room for a sheet of paper between them. "He makes her happy, doesn't he?"

He could concede that. Jasper did seem to make her happy.

"This is what we wanted isn't it? For him to find someone that makes him happy?"

He could concede that as well. For years he and Esme had been hoping that Jasper and Edward would find their mates. They deserved the same happiness he had with Esme. "I know. It's just hard to give her away before I really got her."

"I know honey," Esme rubbed his arm, trying to comfort him, "This isn't their fault. She is who he wants. He is who she wants. There's nothing they could do about that."

"I know. I know he isn't trying to take her from me."

She kissed his cheek, pleased that he would give Jasper that integrity. Of course, it wasn't unexpected. She knew Carlisle was fair. "What do you think is different about them? Do you think it's the fact that she's hybrid?"

That was something he desperately wished he knew. "I'm not sure. I studied the legends about hybrids in South America again. They didn't say anything about abnormal mating conditions, not that there was much to go off of."

Neither of them was satisfied with that answer. Though in all honesty, no one in the family was satisfied with that answer. In a way, their connection towards each other seemed stronger than most. Jasper was willing to defend her in ways that were simply irrational. Almost as if he lost all control, he was unable to see the logical side of situations involving Alexandria. Carlisle was absolutely willing to defend and protect Esme…but he didn't feel it was necessary when the family was making mild jokes. Of course, he would step in if things went too far, but not nearly to the extent that Jasper jumped too.

Maybe this was just teenage infatuation?

Somehow, though, Carlisle doubted that.