Divorcing Jasper

"Well, what's the read?" Alice whispered to Jasper as Christine watched the people.

"Goddammit, Cyn, shoulda used brown," he whispered back. "He knows it's us, and he feel pretty murderous."

"And Jo?" she muttered.

"Scared, she thinks we're stalking her," he murmured. "Which we kinda are."

"But we don't want her, we want the boy," Alice hissed through her teeth.

"Tell her that, sweetheart," he replied quietly.

"Oh, I will..."

"Mom? What're you talking about?" Christine asked curiously.

"We're discussing what to do now that we have a noisy teenager back in our house Lizzie," Alice teased.

"Oh, Cyn, don't be cruel," Jasper chastised her gently, then turned to Chris . "You know we love you, Liz."

"Like you weren't thinking it," Alice scoffed.

"You're mean!" Christine laughed.

'This is fun, it's almost like having a daughter,' Alice smiled inwardly. 'Except that, you know, not all daughters lust after their father....creepy.'

She caught Christine's eye and knew that they were thinking the same thing, and hastily broke the glance.

"Mom? What if my new car doesn't work?" Christine asked carefully, talking in code.

"Then we'll have to change the oil or something, I'm not good with cars, not like your father," Alice replied just as cautiously. "Peter? What do you think?"

"We'll definitely need to change the oil," Jasper agreed.

"When? I wanna drive it soon," Christine wanted to know.

"How about tonight? Do we have any other plans?" Jasper looked over at Alice.

"No, tonight's good," Alice responded.

"How're we going to do this?" Christine whispered, not wanting to be heard.

"You take the oil out, and then you replace it with new oil," Jasper whispered back.

'Ew, Jasper as my father. This is creepy!' Christine thought disgustedly. 'I'm so getting Chase, screw Alice, like goes with like.'

"Look, Liz, I don't care what oil we use, as long as it's for the overall good," Alice told Christine, having already seen the future.

"Thanks, Mom," Christine smiled at Alice's remark, then spared a quick glance over at Chase and Joan.

"Cynthia, do you have your contacts?" Jasper asked Alice urgently as the bus stopped.

"Yeah, do I need to read or something?" Alice asked curiously.

"No, but I want you to look over there at that sign, and you can't see very far without your contacts," Jasper warned her, gesturing towards a sign right behind the Council, several of which were heading towards the bus.

"Oh, my, that is a distance," Alice said as she rummaged in her purse for her contacts, and popped them in, and the blue tinge turned her eyes green. "Don't you need your contacts, too?"

"Yes, dear," Jasper responded as he reached in his pocket, pulling out a contact lens case, and put his contacts on as well.

Christine blinked, rolling her contacts up, revealing her emerald eyes. "Mom, who are they?"

"I don't know, probably government officials," Alice responded, exchanging a quick look with Jasper. He took her hand and squeezed it gently, letting her know that it wasn't over yet.

"Don't Charlotte and Jasper live somewhere nearby?" the small vampire asked Jasper.

"They do, let me text them, and we'll get together tonight," he smiled as he got out his phone and began texting Peter.

'Dammit! I can't do this, but there's no escape,' Alice thought worriedly. 'I should've seen this! Is my vision...dying?'

"Mom? Dad?" Christine asked, acting confused as they staked her 'parents.'

"And Ms. Potter? I beg your pardon? My name is Elizabeth Brandon," she said quizzically. "Do you know WHAT you just did? That was my mom and dad! You can't do that!" she began to sob, "You just can't!"

"Alice!" Jasper yelled as they got staked, fearing the worse. 'Damn, it's my fault, I should have stopped her and Chris,' he thought. 'But NO, I just HAD to go along!'

"I'm alive, sweetheart," Alice said feebly, "For how long, I'm not entirely sure."

"Are they coming?" he asked anxiously.

"They'll be here..." her voice trailed off.

"Man, this sucks, I should have stopped you."

"I should have seen this. Is my vision....gone?" she sounded depressed at the thought.

"No, it's just...in a bit of a slump," Jasper reassured her.

"They know where to meet us, yes?"

"Thanks to your vision, yeah."

"Good, good, did you tell them to bring friends?"

"Oh yes."

"If I tell you my teacher, would you hurt him?" Christine asked. "No, wait, that's a stupid question. OF COURSE you'll jail him, or torture, or kill him."

"I killed what I feared, and I feared what I did not understand," she remarked. "But now I know...the little dark-haired one? That's my Great-Auntie Mary Alice. She doesn't know, I was planning on telling her soon...looks like I can't now," Christine fought back tears. "And I was just getting to know her, too."

"Jasper...we're not going to win..." Alice's eyes were wide and full of fear.

"Alice, don't talk like that! You will make it out of this alive!" Jasper growled.

"I can't go on without you," Alice didn't miss the "you" instead of "we."

"Still, one of us alive is better than none, right?"

"I guess...but I'm not letting you die for me. You couldn't do anything either...we're both dying as we're speaking."

"True...but it's the thought that counts."

"We're screwed."

"Death sex?"

"Jasper, I swear, you're such a male," Alice rolled her eyes.

"Worth a try," he grumbled.

"Wait...DAMMIT! We were supposed to have our wedding this week-end!" she cried out. "I'm NOT letting these bitches RUIN MY PERFECT DAY!"

"What can you do about it? We're being killed."

"Yeah, and there's no way out," Alice replied sadly. "Wait...I have a plan..."

"What is it?" Jasper asked curiously.

She leaned over and whispered in his ear, so quietly that only Jasper could hear, and even his vampire hearing was straining to hear her. He grinned, "Wonderful plan, my love."

"FINE, I'll talk!" Christine explained, then began her monologue, "You know Jonathan Harker's great-great-grandson Joseph Harker? Yeah, he took me under his wing and taught me everything I know. We weren't going to kidnap them, and they sure as hell aren't innocent," she frowned as she remembered the pain on Alice's face when she explained the situation.

"If you were to kill only one of the vampires, which would it be?" Christine asked curiously.

"Joe Harker would never do that!" Christine was shocked. "I knew him well, why would he do such a stupid thing? He only wanted to kill vampires, not torture them! What happened to his son, Harry? Don't tell me he got arrested.

"We were there to talk. Nothing more. They asked me to come along to try to appeal to Joan's emotional side. The pixie vampire and her were besties, but then she...she...left, and Alice was left to deal with it. She wanted closure, like a normal person in a normal relationship. What can I do to save my auntie and uncle?" Christine was near tears. "I love them, and the feeling is mutual."

"You're right, General," Christine replied. "Vampires aren't normal.

"Alice didn't trick Joan, and she was above blending in. Hell, she didn't give a rat's ass about blending in, as long as she had Jasper. The Cullens don't drink human blood, and they contributed greatly to the greater good of the community! Dr. Cullen alone saved over fifty people in the hospital last year using his vampire senses when the human doctors had all but given up!

"Another thing? Alice didn't use petty trickery, you can ask Bella Swan!" Christine grabbed onto her last hope. "Bella can vouch for them, seriously."

"Are you ready?" Alice whispered quietly to Jasper, taking care not to be overheard by the Council members surrounding them. "We're not that far away from HQ."

"As ready as I'll ever be," Jasper breathed back. "Alice, I'm sorry for what I'm about to do..."

Alice nodded minutely, knowing what Jasper was referring to. Not even vampires could resist Jasper's powers of emotion manipulaton, let alone a vampire completely in sync with whatever he was feeling. Alice knew she was going to be affected, but she also knew it was all for the best, and she trusted her Jasper like no one else.

Jasper watched Alice nod, then took a deep breath, 'It's now or never, Whitlock,' he told himself as he looked over at Alice. Knowing he was going to regret what this was going to do to his pixie, he exhaled and began sending crazy scared vibes, causing the driver to run off the edge of the road. Once off the road, Jasper made all the Council member's fear intensify, making them run out of the car, scared for their lives. Unfortunately, when producing such a widespread emotion, everyone gets effected.

"We're alone," Jasper smiled down at Alice, sending her calming vibes. He began gently taking the stakes out of her arms and legs and neck, ignoring the throbbing pain in his own limbs. He only cared about the stakes slowly killing Alice, because if he lost Alice....it was unfathomable.

Alice was instantly gripped with fear...but what was she afraid of? Jasper was with her, he'd never let anyone hurt her. She then realized with a shock that she was afraid of Jasper, and struggled to move, but couldn't for the stakes in her arms and legs.

'Dammit, I gotta get away from Jasper!' she thought as she tried to move out of the car with the Council members, but was unable to move. 'Maybe it's his scars, maybe it's his past, but something about Jasper screams "RUN AWAY!" But I can't....damn.'

"We're alone," she heard Jasper comment as he began pulling the stakes out of her. She calmed down, reminding herself it was just because of what he made the Council members feel.

Alice propped herself up on her elbows, watching Jasper intently. "Jazzy, you look like hell."
She went over to him and pulled the stakes out of his arms, hoping it wasn't too little, too late. "Jazzy? How are you feeling? The others will be here any minute."

Jasper chuckled as he heard his wife tell him he looked like hell. "You're always so charming, angel. Especially after near-death situations."

Alice's face fell, "That's not what I meant--"

"Yes, I know what you mean," he reassured her as she began pulling the stakes out of him.

"Jazzy? How are you feeling? The others will be here any minute."

"I'm fine, just a bit worse for wear," he said calmly. "Which others? Council others or Peter and Charlotte?"

"Both," Alice responded. "Peter and Charlotte will come first, and if we don't move it fast enough, we're all dust."

"Oh? So it's all or none? Great," Jasper's face dropped when he learned that. 'Like I need more lives on my conscience,' he thought bitterly, thinking of his violent past.

Alice watched Jasper's face, knowing what he was thinking. "We'll make it, Jazz. All of us."

"And Chris? What, are we gonna just leave her?"

"Well, yes, but she'll be able to get out of it," she said. "We're all making it out of this alive."

She gazed down at her arms and legs, noticing the small pinprick scars on her skin where the stakes had been.

"Hey!" a voice called from the door of the car. Alice got into fight position, thinking it was another team of Council cronies.

A kind looking, brunette young man entered the car, and Alice sighed with relief and hugged him tightly, "Peter!"

"Hey, Alice," Peter hugged her back, then took a step back to look at her. "You're not looking so good, Al."

"Gee thanks," Alice responded sarcastically. "But Jasper's worse."

"You're right," Peter looked over at his old vampire war buddy. "Jasper, you think you can run with us to our place?"

"He can and will," Alice said determinedly, then looked around, "Where's Charlotte?"

"She stayed at home, safe," Peter replied. "Let's go, they're already starting to swarm the car, we'll need our extra speed."

"Alright," Alice began running at vampire speed after Peter, feeling immense pain in her legs. 'My God, where does Peter live? New York?'

She glanced behind herself, at Jasper. She smiled encouragingly at him, holding out her hand to him silently.

"Hey!" a voice called from the door of the car. Alice got into fight position, thinking it was another team of Council cronies.

Jasper smiled at Alice's overreaction, then turned to face the young man at the door. "Hey Pete."

"Hey Jazz," Peter returned with a smile.

"But Jasper's worse."

He growled on the inside, not wanting his vulnerability to show quite so much.

"You're right," Peter looked over at his old vampire war buddy. "Jasper, you think you can run with us to our place?"

Did he think he could? Hell no. No way. The holy water still burned in his legs. How can he run like this?

"He can and will," Alice said determinedly.

Jasper couldn't help fighting a smile at this remark. Somehow, Alice always believed the best of him, even after learning of his past. He couldn't quite believe that this amazing creature was his, even after the wedding.

"Where's Charlotte?"
"She stayed at home, safe," Peter replied.

He couldn't help but feel guilt bubble up in his stomach. 'That's where Alice should be,' Jasper told himself. 'Not here, dying slowly.'

He should have stopped her, told her he would do it alone, anything but this.

Alice glanced behind herself, at Jasper. She smiled encouragingly at him, holding out her hand to him silently.

He grinned as he took his love's hand, remembering the first time they met:

He walked into the diner, noticing the petite woman at the counter. He took in her golden eyes, wondering if she was an angel. Everything about her was just so perfect, her short black hair, her smile as she approached him---SHE WAS APPROACHING HIM? RUN, MAN! IT'S AN ATTACK! But...she was feeling confident? Calm? She wasn't going to attack. Not yet.

"You've kept me waiting a long time," the woman smiled teasingly.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," Jasper ducked his head shyly, wondering who this woman was.

She held out her hand silently, and he stopped thinking and just felt...hope. He took her hand and led her out of the diner, towards a nearby meadow.