A/N: Sorry for the slightly evil cliffhanger! But I promised a new chapter soon, and here it is!

Thank you again for your feedback, I really appreciate it!

Run Away With Me

Chapter 7: A Telephone

Jasper sat in his tent rubbing his temples, his brow furrowed in concern. It was always hard to sleep with the constant whizzing and screeching of shells, and the ever present threat of attack. But tonight he was filled with a feeling of unease beyond the usual discomfort.

Something was off, something was wrong. He couldn't say what it was, but he felt it deep in his gut. He had a completely irrational urge to check on his Alice. There would be nothing wrong with her, of course, she was in the safest place she could be for the time being.

But still he could not be satisfied. It was as though he could feel her. Even though that thought made him shake his head because it was ridiculous, in the strangest way it made sense deep inside him. Something was wrong, he just knew it.

He had to be sure. He had to know, tonight. He would never be able to focus in battle tomorrow otherwise, and the last thing she needed was for him to get himself killed worrying about her.

It was a five mile hike to the nearest town, where the nearest phone was located. He had committed the number of the asylum to memory. He could make it there and back by morning. He would be exhausted the next day, but better that than distracted. Exhaustion he could push through, worrying about Alice he could not push aside, and he needed a clear head to fight.

He left word with his second in command that he would be back before sunrise, and made the long hike to the village. It was pitch black, silent and asleep. He made his way to the public call box in the town square. Picking up the receiver, he dialed the asylum. With the time difference, it would be early morning there, and he hoped someone would be around to answer.

"Hello, Biloxi Sanatorium, this is Susan speaking, how may I assist you?"

He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hello, my name is Major Jasper Whitlock. I'm a patron of your facility. I need to speak with the Head Doctor immediately."

"Certainly, Major," the receptionist answered. He could hear the respect in her voice, she remembered him from his visit. "One moment please."

There was a shuffle, and a gruff voice spoke, "Yes?"

"Hello doctor, this is Major Jasper Whitlock. I trust you remember me?" he asked.

"Uh, of course," the doctor answered, sounding puzzled.

"I need to speak with Miss Mary Alice Brandon for a moment," Jasper requested, more of a command than a request.

"I'm sorry, you can't do that," the doctor answered.

"It will only take a moment," Jasper pressed, "Please put her on the line."

The doctor cleared his throat. "Mary can't come to the phone at the moment." He said finally.

Jasper's grip on the phone tightened as fear flooded him. His gut had been right, something was wrong. "Why not?" he asked, his voice tight.

"She's sedated," the doctor answered. Jasper flew into a rage at his words,

"I was under the impression she was no longer receiving that treatment," he growled protectively.

"She isn't," the doctor answered, sounding uneasy. "She was screaming, we had to sedate her."

"Screaming?" Jasper asked, truly frightened now.

"Indeed. It's strange…" the doctor mused.

"What is?" Jasper asked, not understanding the doctor's casual thoughtful tone of voice at a time like this.

"She wanted to telephone you," the doctor said, his voice incredulous.

"She did?" Jasper's grip on the phone was almost crushing it.

"She wouldn't stop screaming. She said she needed to telephone you, to warn you about something…" the doctor trailed off, lost in thought. "Something about a river. How strange that you should call just when she wanted to call you," he sounded genuinely perplexed. "Well," he reasoned, "I've seen stranger things here."

But it seemed that, for a second, he considered the very slim chance that she might not be totally insane. Maybe a supernatural witch, but perhaps not delusional.

His momentary doubt was enough to allow Jasper to convince him to drag Mary Alice out of her stupor and let her talk to him for a moment. Jasper's powers of charm and persuasion were still effective over the phone, and truth be told, the doctor was curious what she would say.

He fetched her from her room, keeping her restrained in case she struggled again when she came to, but bringing her to the phone and placing it in her hand. The injection was already starting to wear off, and he slapped her face a little, splashing it with water as she came round.

"The telephone," she murmured, realizing that she was holding it. Suddenly her eyes shot open, and a look of realization dawned in them. For a second they began to unfocus, a new vision descending on her with this new possibility, but she shook it off, needing to talk to Jasper.

"Jazz," she breathed into the phone, still drowsy from the drugs.

"Alice," he answered immediately, "My Alice." It had been so long since he'd heard her voice.

"You knew?" she asked, "How did you know to telephone me?"

"I wasn't sure…I felt it," Jasper answered, trying to put into words something that was too big for him to wrap his brain around. "I felt that something was wrong, I needed to talk to you. I felt you," he murmured.

"You felt me," she gripped the phone with her tiny hands, an intense feeling washing over her. "Oh, Jazz." Alice sighed, she sounded so happy, so relieved.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I had a vision," she explained. Her voice grew steely serious, "You cannot go through with taking the river bank today. You're going to die, I've seen it."

He heard her shudder. His mind was reeling trying to process the information.

"So the bad feeling I got, it was about me?" he asked uncertainly.

"Well, I suppose it was about me because they wouldn't let me call you. I thought there was no way I could warn you. Even if I got to a phone, I wouldn't have known the number, and I knew a letter would never have reached you in time. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do. I thought I was going to loose you."

She paused, her breath hitching. Jasper understood, there was no way he could even comprehend loosing her. His life would be over. There would be no way to exist without her. She was his whole world. His chest swelled, the fearful feeling being replaced by a warm happy proud one as he realized he truly was hers too.

"You won't loose me," he promised. "You'll never loose me. I'll call off the offensive today. I'll find a way around it. I promised you I'm coming home to you, and I will. I'm not dying today."

She'd done it, she'd saved him. Again. She wasn't insane, she was brilliant. And he'd felt her. They were brilliant, together.

"Or am I?" he teased, feeling relieved enough to be playful. "Would you mind checking the near future for me?"

She was silent for a while, concentrated, then she answered.

"You're okay. Nothing bad coming now. Not for a while. We did it, Jazz," she whispered. "We saved you." Her voice sounded awed, like she couldn't believe the miracle that had just taken place. He couldn't believe it himself.

"You're brilliant, you know," he whispered. "We should run all our plans by you."

Actually, that was a excellent idea. If only he had a phone he could carry around, so that he could speak to her whenever he needed.

"I'll call as often as I can. Whenever possible I'll try to run plans by you before they're made. We don't want to take any chances." It would mean a lot of night time hikes to nearby towns and missing sleep, but Jasper could handle that.

"That would make me feel a lot better. I hate worrying and not being able to do anything," Alice laughed, relief making her giddy. "I love you Jazz," she sighed.

"I love you too, my girl. My Alice," he responded reverently. His grip on the phone was light now, his fear replaced with wonder and soaring love.

"I have to get back, to warn them before they start the offensive. I'll have to think of something. Any ideas?" he probed.

Alice checked the future for a second. In the same moment that he thought of the idea, she saw it. He would tell them he'd captured and killed a German spy on his way back from the town and that the enemy had revealed they knew about their attack and were prepared to ambush. As Major, he had a good amount of sway over his small unit. It wouldn't be too hard to convince them to abandon the attack.

"I'll talk to you soon Jazz," Alice promised. "Very soon, actually," she added, peeking at the future and smiling.

"Thanks for feeling me," she murmured, her whole heart smiling.

"I didn't have a choice," Jasper murmured back, awed by their intense connection. "Thanks for saving me."

"You saved me first," she chuckled.

"I'll argue that with you the next time we talk," he laughed back. "Speak soon, my love."

"Bye bye my Jasper."

And the line went dead.

He hung up, stepping out of the phone booth and seeing the dull morning light already starting to streak the sky. He would have to hurry. They'd be mobilizing soon, hoping to strike before it got too light. He took off running back to his base. He was so full of hope and love and wonder at Alice and how perfectly destined they were for each other, that his brisk run felt like he was flying.

A/N: Jasper lives! Of course we couldn't kill him ;) Not when he and Alice have so much more loving to do! And Alice is brilliant! But we already knew that. Hope the outcome made up for the evil cliffhanger :) Thanks again for your reviews and support!