A/N: This is my entry into the Many Faces of Jasper One Shot contest hosted by Jasper's Darlins. I hope you like it.

A few of the characters are OOC. You'll see what I mean as you read.

FYI: Jasper is twenty-four. At the start of each flashback I state 'Nine years previous', 'three years previous' etc, so that you can work out Jasper's age. Alice, of course, will be the same age as Jasper in each flashback.

Embrace Geeksper, I certainly did.

Penname: Lonely-Soldier (FrozenSoldier on Twilighted)

Chosen Face: Daddysper, Geeksper

Disclaimer: I do not own Jasper, Alice or anything else Twilight related.

Rating: T

Felt Like Yesterday

Stone hearts and hand grenades
All my lonely, you throw it all away
When you need me, I will keep you safe

After that all the dust is settle
We lift each other off the ground
I'll carry you a million miles
I'll never let you down
there's a lot of strength in weakness
there's a lot of truth in lies
But in the end, we're just two
people destine to collide

Leona Lewis – Stone Hearts and Hand Grenades

My daughter sat with her lips tightly pressed together. An amused smile spread across my face as I was once again reminded how stubborn she was, just like her mother. I placed the plastic spoon back in the bowl of soft vegetable soup and gave her a long stare.

"Come on, Amelia, be good for daddy," I murmured with a slight begging intonation. She stared right back, and then went on to playfully bash her hands on the table in front of her.

"Are you goin' to eat your food now?" I continued as I scooped the food onto her spoon again. Bringing it to her lips, I willed her to open her mouth and let me feed her. But like before, her lips remained tightly pressed together.

I sighed, my shoulders sagging. "Anyone would think I'm tryin' to feed you dog food."

Deciding to take a different approach, I pretended that the spoon was a plane, and that it was 'landing' in her mouth. She followed my hand, and as I came closer, she let out a half gurgle, half giggle, and I took my moment, putting the spoon in her mouth.

She pulled a face, as she had done every other time tonight. Her nose scrunched up, and some of the soup dribbled out of her mouth. To stop it from dripping onto her clothes, I placed the bowl in front of her and reached for a tissue from the side. When I turned back, I found that she'd put her hand in the bowl, and was now smearing the soup over the tabletop.

"You lil' monkey," I growled playfully as I took the bowl away from her. She continued to smear the food everywhere, so instead of trying to clean her up whilst she was sitting in the chair, I decided to give her a bath.

As soon as I stood up, she raised her arms as if to say take me with you, too. I smiled and picked her up, holding her against my side. Seconds later, her right hand was in my hair and coincidently, so was her food.

"You're just like your momm-" But before I could finish my sentence, her other hand was on my face and her finger found their way into my mouth, stopping me from saying anything more. It was then I realised why she had been so stubborn and preferred to play with her food than eat it – it did taste horrible.

She pulled her hand away shortly after and stared up at me with a cheeky little smile on her face, making me chuckle. "You're definitely like your momma."

Amelia's smile widened, and even though she probably didn't understand what I'd said, a part of me hoped that it was the reason why.

"You want me to tell you how I met Mommy?" I asked as I walked into the bathroom. She didn't answer – I didn't expect her to – but she did remain silent, as if waiting for me to begin.

I smiled once again, thinking back to that day. "When I was younger, I used to volunteer at a History museum. It was a place where big and little people could go to learn all about the different parts of History. That's where I met Mommy…"

Nine years previous.

The air inside the museum was stuffy and I was incredibly uncomfortable in the long sleeve, buttoned up shirt I was wearing. I glanced at the broken air conditioning unit and frowned. It should have been fixed by now, or so I'd heard at least.

I looked around from my spot at the Civil War stand and studied the very few people in the room. There was a man talking very animatedly to a group of pre-schoolers, whilst on the other side there was an older female sitting behind the cash register in the gift shop. Apart from that, the place was pretty much deserted, and that was how I preferred it. I hated large crowds, which was why I volunteered to work at the museum on the weekend; it rarely brought in a big crowd.

I sat back in my chair, and that was when I happened to glance towards the cafeteria section. I hadn't noticed the girl sitting there before, she was petite, but even so, I was surprised I hadn't spotted her.

My eyes travelled over her small frame, but were soon drawn to her hair. It was definitely the most striking attribute about her. It was short, almost shorter than mine, and was raven black with a blue streak down the side. The colour choice made me think that she wanted people to notice her, but the way she was sitting said quite the opposite.

She was concentrating on a sketch pad in front of her, and was busy drawing on it with black chalk. I was thankful of that, for she would have noticed me looking at her a long time before if she wasn't.

I looked away from her hands and focused on her face. It was then I realised how wrong I had been about her most striking attribute being her hair, it was, in fact, her features that struck me the most. From what I could see, they were in proportion to her small frame, making her look more like a child than a teenager, like myself.

She was by far the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen. More than Lauren Mallory or Jessica Stanley, the girls who cared more about their appearance than the grades they were getting in class. This girl was… and then she looked up at me.

I jolted and looked away, already knowing it was too late. She'd caught me looking – gawking – at her, and I had nowhere to hide. So I focused my gaze downwards and didn't dare look up passed the table in front of me, in case I caught her eye once again.

I ran my hands through my unruly blond hair, trying to get it out of my eyes. It was useless, so I gave up completely, and tried not to think about the girl sitting across the room from me.

My biggest problem was that I got nervous, really nervous, and when people started to pay attention to me, I sweated. Given that it was an oven in here as it was, I was already feeling the effects, and the fact that she hadn't stopped looking at me really wasn't helping. It wasn't that I knew for sure she was still looking at me; I just felt it.

A short while later, my glasses, of which had stupidly thick rims, started to slide down my nose. I pushed them back into place, but it wasn't long before they were on the move again. I let out a quick sigh and closed my eyes, taking them off completely.

The glasses were awful and came with a stereotype – geek. Not that it made much different to me. I was a geek, more than a geek, in fact. If you put Clark Kent and Peter Parker together, I'd still be geekier. Except, there was a big difference between them and me, apart from the fact they were fictional, was that they were superheroes. The only thing under my clothes was my incredibly pale skin that hadn't fully seen the light of day in years. No extra-tight superhero outfit in sight.

"Hi."

My head shot up at the sound of her voice. As soon as I saw her, my hands shot up to my face, trying to put the glasses on. But I missed, poked myself in my right eye, and then dropped them as I pressed the heel of my hand against my sore area. I muttered obscenities under my breath as I ducked down to retrieve them.

"Are you okay?" she asked, a slight worried intonation in her tone.

I stood up a little too swiftly, and swayed slightly at the sudden dizziness. "I'm fine," I blurted out, feeling my neck getting hot. I swallowed heavily as I felt my right eye begin to water. She continued to stare at me for a little while longer, not saying a word. It was then that I got a better look at her.

She was even smaller than I'd first thought, probably no more than five feet at the most. Her skin was pale, and the dark eyeliner around her eyes matched her black hair perfectly. If anything, her black clothes hinted that she was gothic. It didn't matter to me, though because up close, I got to see her properly, and she was still beautiful, more so, in fact.

Thankfully, before I embarrassed myself further, she broke the silence. "What do you do here?"

"I volunteer here at the weekends," I told her as I scratched my forehead unnecessarily.

Her head tilted to the side, as if she was thinking about something. "Why do you do that?"

"I love History," I said simply, knowing that I couldn't very well tell her it was because I wanted somewhere to hide and not be noticed. This was the only place I could do that, considering I couldn't do that at home any more since my younger sister, Rosalie, got a new boyfriend. Emmett was one of those guys from school that found joy in teasing me. Plus he was built like the Hulk, which was good enough reason to give him a wide berth. I grimaced involuntarily as I thought about it, and then directed my attention back to the girl in front of me. I wanted to ask her why she was here, but I decided against it.

In response, she merely nodded, and to me, the look on her face told me that she knew I wasn't telling the whole truth. Once again, it went silent, and I saw her switch her weight onto her other foot. I was expecting an awkward silence to fall over us, but surprisingly it didn't.

"Well, I love the American Civil War the most," I said after a while, surprising myself that I was actually offering conversation instead of trying to back away from it. "Did you know it had the highest total of deaths in the history of America?"

She didn't answer, and usually that would have made me stop, but I didn't. "It's estimated that around six hundred and twenty thousand people died durin' the course of the war, and not all of them died from battle wounds. Sometimes I think disease was worse than the ones actually pullin' the trigger, although I can't really say that when talkin' about the battle at Gettysburg. So many soldiers lost their lives in such a short space of time."

I could feel the excitement bubbling up inside my chest as I spoke about the thing I loved. I knew that I could go on for hours, and end up embarrassing myself further by admitting I sometimes dreamt of being Major Jasper Whitlock, fighting for the Confederate Army.

However, she was just staring at me, and I felt like I had to stop. It wasn't as if she was staring right through me, not listening to a word I said. It was quite the opposite in fact. In some way, it seemed she was staring too much, almost as if she was looking at a painting and trying to take in every detail.

Her staring began making me nervous, and I felt myself sweating once again. Fortunately she snapped out of whatever reverie she was in, and bit her lip into her mouth thoughtfully.

"Where did you learn about the Civil War?" she questioned, taking me by surprise.

"Well, my grandfather was quite a Civil War enthusiast. Once he showed me a uniform that he…" But my voice trailed away from me as she wiped at her cheek, leaving a black smudge in its wake. Her hands must have been dirty from earlier when she was drawing with the chalk. I didn't complete my sentence, and instead I stared at it, wondering if I should say something.

She frowned; obviously realising I'd stopped talking because of her. "Is something wrong?"

"You…uh…you have chalk on your face," I murmured awkwardly as I signalled to where it was on my own face.

Her eyebrows rose, but she made no attempt to wipe it off. "I do?"

I nodded, not saying another word. She, too, was silent for a moment, as if she was thinking about something. Then a moment later, she reached forward and gently ran her finger across my cheek. I looked at her, startled by her behaviour. Her fingers didn't move away at first, and I let out a nervous laugh, feeling my cheeks heat up even further, knowing this was the closest I'd been to a girl…ever.

When she finally pulled away, a smile spread across her face. A smile, I noticed, that looked as it didn't appear very often.

"You have chalk on your face," she said simply.

I was broken from the memory as Amelia splashed her hands in the bath water around her. She loved that there was more room to play in the big bathtub in comparison to the baby bath she used to be washed in.

I'd already washed her tiny wisps of blonde hair, and was letting her play before I took her out. I enjoyed these moments the most because there were very few things in life that made me as contented as when I watched my daughter looking so happy.

"She told me her name just before she left," I continued, smiling when she looked towards me as I began speaking. "I thought I'd never see her again, but the very next day I saw her at school. It's funny how you notice someone when you start likin' them, although she did say she'd only been attending that school for a little over a month. You'll go through all that when you're older, sweetie, but don't worry, I'll let you know about the kind of people to stay away from."

I chuckled to myself as I lifted her out the bath and lay her down on the large, soft towel. I could tell already that I was going to be very protective of her. Lucky for me, she was barely over the year mark, which meant we had a long way to go yet.

"She noticed me, too, of course, and I did somethin' very brave that day, I went and sat with her at lunch," I told her, feeling a slight twinge of pride. Usually I sat in the library, or walked around the school grounds. I never went into the cafeteria, that place was a big no-go for me. But that day, something was different, and when I saw her sitting at a table by herself, I knew that I was going to sit with her.

"It took me a long time to ask her out," I murmured as I swaddled her in the large towel, drying her. "It was all very new for me, and I had no idea how to act around girls. But I plucked up the courage and asked her. Are you proud of Daddy?"

She gurgled in response, and as I picked her up, I began retelling her about our first date.

Nine years previous.

My palms were hot and clammy, and I wiped them on my shirt for the tenth time in the last few minutes. I'd walked up her driveway, and was standing outside the front door. I was supposed to have knocked over a minute ago, but I'd chickened out and pulled my hand away before it hit the door.

What was I doing here? I didn't know anything about going on dates; forget that, I didn't know anything about girls. Living with Rosalie helped me to understand small points, like don't get in their way and not to use the toilet when they need to get ready. With Rosalie, the consequences were usually dire.

So that left me standing at the door, wondering why I'd even asked her out on a date. The fact Alice had accepted my offer was irrelevant in that moment. I didn't know what I was going to do once we were alone. What I had planned was stupid, and she'd probably ask for me to take her home, or worse, she'd just get up and leave.

That's won't be so bad, I told myself. I could easily avoid her around school, to save our embarrassment. I would go back to walking around at lunch, or hiding in the library. It was a good thing she wasn't in any of my class-

But my thoughts were cut short when the door opened and a guy, at least three or four years my elder, stood before me. I jumped and took a step backwards, feeling a blush creep onto my face. He stared at me for a short moment before raising his hand and resting it against the doorframe, as if blocking my way into the house.

He wasn't as toned and muscular as Emmett was, but compared to my pathetically spindly arms and body, this guy could probably be just as threatening if he so wished. Luckily for me, his expression wasn't that of someone who was about to use me as their punching bag – not that that had ever happened to me before.

I diverted my eyes downwards, wondering if I should introduce myself or ask for Alice. Oh, God, what if I had the wrong house? I suddenly thought. My eyes widened and I tried to remember the piece of paper Alice had given me with her address on.

When I looked up to check the house number, Alice suddenly appeared from behind him. I let out a quick sigh of relief, but didn't completely relax. I probably wouldn't relax again until I was home and in my room.

The guy didn't take his eyes off me, even when Alice ducked under his arm and came to stand in front of him. She was wearing all black, like I expected, but they were clothes I'd never seen her wear before.

I didn't hear what she said, but I knew she murmured something to him as his gaze lowered to her, a crease forming between his eyes. For a long moment, they just stood there in silence until finally he looked back up at me.

"Where are you taking her?" he asked, speaking for the first time since answering the door. His accent wasn't familiar to me, which told me he wasn't a born and raised Texan like I was, though I knew that already from talking to Alice.

I gulped, hoping to God I didn't stutter. "To the museum, they have evenin' tours."

No stutter. That surprised me, now all I had to hope for was that he didn't see my hands shaking by my side.

His eyebrows rose in shock at my response. "Is this guy for real?" he asked Alice, not trying to lower his voice.

My teeth worried my bottom lip as Alice sighed and muttered, "Edward," in a warning tone. "Go back inside."

At first, he didn't move and went back to staring at me. I tried to hold his gaze, but he – Edward – was kind of intense, and he was making me feel nervous, subsequently making me sweat even more.

However, at long last, he pulled his arm away and looked back at Alice. "Call me if you need me to pick you up."

If he looked at me again before going inside, I would never know, but another sigh of relief escaped me when the door closed behind him.

"I'm sorry about him. Edward's very…" She struggled to find the right words to use. "…protective of me."

Saying he was protective seemed like an understatement, but I didn't comment on it. Instead, I said, "Usually it is the father who's the protective one."

The silence that followed was awkward, and I wracked my brains to work out what I'd said that was wrong. I came up short, and when I looked at her, my heart jolted, it looked as if she was fighting tears.

"What's wrong?" I asked immediately, mentally slapping myself for upsetting her already. She didn't look at me, but the expression on her face told me that she was contemplating whether or not to say what was bothering her.

"My dad died last year," she finally told me, keeping her gaze fixed on the floor. My mouth fell open at my own stupidity. The pieces all added together. The impression I got the first day I met her was right, she probably hadn't really smiled for a while. It also made sense to see Edward acting the way he had; he probably saw himself as the head of the house now.

"I'm sorry," was all I could think about saying.

She frowned. "Don't apologise, I hate it when people apologise for that."

I swallowed heavily then fiddled with my glasses nervously. "Okay, I'm sorry I-"

My eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets as I realised my mistake. "Oh, God." It came out nearly as a whimper. "I'm sor-"

Goodbye, Alice, it was nice knowing you. I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from saying anything more. My breath was coming out in short puffs as my eyes looked anywhere but at her. How could I be so stupid?

When I finally peaked at her from the corner of my eye, I was shocked to see that she was looking at me with a tiny smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Hell, I know that wasn't intentional, but thank you for causing a good distraction. Now, should we go?"

I stared at her, completely bewildered, wondering why she hadn't turned around and never spoken to me again.

"Sure," I croaked out.

When we arrived at the museum, there was a group of elderly couples waiting for their guide to arrive. I wasn't surprised to see them there. I'd worked at my small Civil War booth many times on a weekend, and I knew what kind of crowd to expect.

"Do we have to walk around with them?" Alice asked as she nodded towards the group. I studied them for a moment before looking at Alice standing next to me.

"Do you want to?"

She shook her head. "Not really. I don't…like big crowds, even if they're all as old as my grandparents."

I nodded, knowing exactly what we could do. "I think we can go on our own, come on."

People watched us walk by, many of them with questioning looks in their eyes. When we walked by the tour guide, his gaze went from me to Alice with a smile on his face. I'd talked to him many times before, so I knew he wouldn't have trouble with us walking about on our own.

"Do you know your way around?" Alice asked as we walked into the first deserted corridor. I wanted to answer her, but at the same moment I realised that it was the first time I'd ever been with a girl on my own like this before.

I could feel the back of my neck getting hot, and my hands were sweating yet again. She looked at me when I didn't answer; all I could muster was a sheepish smile and a mumbled, "Sort of."

We were quiet for a long while as we walked. I wasn't sure why I was leading her towards the astronomy section, all I could think was that it would be the one she'd enjoy the most. It was only when we got there that I remembered not only were we the only ones there, but it was also the darkest room in the whole museum.

My eyes widened slightly. I am in a dark room with Alice. Alone, dark room…Alice.

My heart was beating a million a miles an hour; and I was certain that it was going to explode out of my chest any second. I could see the headline now, boy dies due to heart exploding; girl traumatised for life.

Yet when I looked at Alice, I saw that she wasn't paying attention to me at all. Her eyes were fixed on the various displays around the room. I'd been in here a number of times, and so I knew how fascinating the displays were. Each wall had a different exhibit, and the one that held Alice's attention was the Milky Way Galaxy.

"My father always used to say that no matter how big your problem is, you just have to look up at the stars and know that there is always something bigger out there. After that, nothing is too big to overcome."

From where I stood, I could see the tears that were slowly making their way down her cheeks. My eyebrows pulled together as I stepped towards her. This wasn't what I wanted to happen; I didn't want to make her cry more. So much for distracting her.

But then she surprised me by turning to look at me, with a real, genuinely happy expression on her face. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She sighed, and then returned her gaze to the display once again. The smile remained on her face, and I knew in that moment I wanted to make her smile like that again and again.

"Yes," I whispered, not taking my eyes off her. I stepped closer, and without stopping to think about what I was doing, I slipped my hand into hers. "Beautiful."

I wasn't sure where the confidence came from, and honestly, I couldn't care less. She didn't look at me, but as she entwined her fingers with mine, I knew everything was going to be okay.

As soon as I put Amelia down on the bed, she wriggled until she was free from the towel. She then began kicking her feet against the mattress.

"You're an energetic little one, aren't ya?" I murmured as I held onto her feet, kissing her toes. "I'm goin' to have a lot of fun chasin' you around when you learn to walk, I bet."

Not wanting her to get cold, I dressed her ready for bed. But when I placed her in the cot, she rolled over and pulled herself up into a sitting position. I let out a sigh and laid her back down, and then rubbed my hand along her tummy, knowing it soothed her.

"Sweetie, you have to sleep now," I murmured as I continued to rub her tummy until her eyes started to droop. Trying not to jostle her, I slowly pulled back and edged away from the cot. I was halfway to the door when I heard her stirring yet again. I didn't move, hoping she would go back to sleep again, but then she started to cry. Lowering my head for a moment, I turned back and sat down beside the cot.

She stopped crying the moment she saw me, and stared at me through the bars. When she blinked, the movement was slow; she was tired, but she was fighting it. I moved closer and threaded my arm through the bars so that I could stroke her blonde curls. Her large grey eyes, so similar to Alice's, remained fixed on me, though her eyelids were steadily drooping once again.

At long last, her eyes closed completely, and for a long moment, I sat watching her chest rise and fall as she breathed. I wasn't sure how long I sat watching her, but when I stood up my knees were stiff from sitting in the same position for a long time.

"Sweet dreams, pretty girl," I whispered faintly, knowing it wouldn't wake her up. "I love you."

Steadily, I made my way outside. "She's finally asleep," I murmured as I stepped into the main room. "It took longer than normal today. She kept fightin' it."

Silence.

I sighed and reached for the bottle of bourbon from the cupboard. It was still relatively full, but I guess that was because I'd bought it only last week. I wasn't much of a drinker when Amelia was awake, but once she was asleep, I would have a glass or two sometimes. Alice hated the stuff; she didn't like the smell of it. But as I poured a glass, brought it to my lips and took a sip, I was greeted by silence once again.

Taking the bottle with me, I walked passed Alice and sat down on the couch. I leant back, my head resting against the armrest, and closed my eyes, using the silence to think of a much happier time.

Three years previous.

The door to the apartment was unlocked, which immediately told me Alice was home already. I closed the door behind me, but stopped as soon I heard a Beyoncé song blaring out of the speakers in our bedroom.

Beyoncé? I mouthed to myself in confusion. Since when did Alice listen to Beyoncé? I'd seen the playlists on her iPod; they were all rock songs, or of a genre that very close to it. Not once did I see anything about Beyoncé.

With a puzzled expression on my face, I walked towards the bedroom and stopped in my tracks at what I saw. Alice was dancing around the room in nothing but a tank top and panties. A smirk spread across my face as I leant against the doorframe, knowing that she hadn't seen me yet.

From my position by the door, I got a good view of her shaking her booty and boy was it one of the sexiest things I'd ever seen. I'd never seen her dancing like this before, and in that moment I wished that I had.

Unfortunately, my enjoyment was cut short as she spun around and saw me standing in the doorway. I wasn't expecting her to scream, nor was I expecting her to fall over, but she did just that.

"Jasper, you scared the shit out of me just then," she muttered, clutching at her heart.

I made my way over to her. "I'm sorry, darlin', I didn't mean to. I just wanted to see you dancin', even if it was to a Beyoncé song."

Her cheeks flushed a reddish colour and she looked away, not meeting my eye anymore. The smirk grew as I held my hand out to her. She snuck a quick glance at me before taking my hand and standing up.

"You should have told me you were a closet Beyoncé fan," I continued. "I would have bought you one of her CDs instead of that Three Days Grace one I got you."

Her eyes narrowed and she glared up at me. "You're not funny. You know that, right?"

I could tell she was about to say something more, but I stopped her by leaning in and kissing her. She was much shorter than me, so as soon as her arms wound around my neck, I gripped her waist and lifted her up, knowing she'd wrap her legs around me.

The kiss was slow, and I hoped, as she kissed me back, that she'd forgotten what she was going to say. I moved back gradually then sat down with her on the end of the bed. As soon as I did so, she shifted and pulled away from me.

"Don't think you've gotten away with making that comment just now," she said in a stern voice, though I could see the mischievous twinkle in her eye.

I fought the smirk that wanted to grow even wider. "I was only messin' with ya…Beyoncé."

Her lips pursed into a thin line as she slapped me across the chest then pushed until I was lying flat on my back. I'd let her push me back, of course, liking the position it put us in. I'm a guy, It's only natural I love it when she's on top.

"If it's Beyoncé you want on top of you, then fine, I think I'll go and watch TV," she muttered tetchily. She went to move away from me, but before she could get further than a couple of inches, I grabbed her hips and held her in place. Incidentally, it pressed her body into all the right places of mine.

"Sweets, I'm joking. She's definitely not my type. Besides…" I let my voice trail away from me as my eyes travelled down the length of her body. "I like my women…petite."

The corners of her mouth turned upwards as she crawled forward, placed her hands both sides of my head and kissed me full of the lips. As we kissed, my fingers played with the hem of her tank top. They were itching to pull it up and over her head, but just as I was about to do so, she pulled away and whispered, "Good."

Before I could get a word out, she pulled off my glasses and put them on herself. As she sat up, straddling me once again, I found that I was unable to do anything else apart from stare at her, my mouth shamefully hanging open.

I wasn't sure what it was, but whenever she wore my glasses I would find myself more turned on than a teenage boy looking at his first porn magazine. For most guys, it was seeing their girl wearing nothing but one of their shirts. In saying that, if the two were paired together, it would most probably cause me to spontaneously combust, and my crotch would be the part of my anatomy that triggered it.

She giggled, making her whole body shake and excite certain areas of my body even more. "I love how it turns you on when I'm wearing your glasses."

There were no words, and as she began unbuttoning my shirt, I decided against speaking altogether. As she continued working on the buttons, I watched the way she bit her bottom lip into her mouth. I wasn't sure if she realised how hot and tempting she looked in that moment. Maybe I could buy her some glasses, I mused, maybe some of those fake ones, just so she could wear them when I was around.

By the time I'd pulled myself out of my thoughts, she was already unbuckling my belt and snapping the buttons on my trousers. Lifting my hips to help her with the belt, I heard her gasp, and I knew the sensation I'd caused.

Not wanting to leave it any longer, I sat up, removed my shirt completely and then wrapped my arms around Alice, pulling her flush against my chest. I crushed our lips together, eliciting a deep moan from the back of her throat.

Leaning back, I took off the glasses and lifted the tank top over her head, throwing it to the floor with my shirt. I let out a quick whimper when I saw that she wasn't wearing anything underneath the top. Letting my hands roam her body, I watched as Alice grabbed the glasses and put them back on. God damn. I had been wrong earlier, seeing her wearing nothing but panties and my glasses was better than anything I could have imagined.

She grinned, knowing exactly what she was doing to me. Letting out a low growl, I pulled her closer and trailed my lips across her shoulder and up to her neck. Her aroma was delicious, and I could never quite place it was anything specific. It was Alice, and I wanted it every day for the rest of my life. I took her earlobe into my mouth, tugging on it gently. God, I wanted her to be mine; I wanted her to be mine forever.

"Marry me," I said breathlessly, the words leaving my mouth without thinking.

She pulled back, her eyes wide. "What?" she gasped.

"Marry me," I repeated, and in that moment, I wondered why I hadn't asked her sooner. I wanted her, I wanted this, and I wanted her to be my wife.

Tears sprung into her eyes as she beamed at me. "Yes!" she cried, diving at me, pushing us both down onto the bed. I laughed, and she laughed with me, the happiness surrounding us being strong enough to brighten a sunless day.

I switched our positions quickly so that she was below me. "I love you so much," I exclaimed happily before kissing her passionately. Seconds later, I felt Alice's hands fumbling with the top of my trousers, trying to remove them.

Pulling back slightly, I removed our remaining garments, and then with my eyes fixed on hers, I joined us together once again. The euphoria was there, right from the start, even before our bodies were joined. It began the moment she said-

"Yes," she said, nearly gasping the word as her body arched into mine. Yes, I thought, that was what I wanted, what I craved. Our bodies moving together, keeping pace, then faster, slower, and I wanted more.

Her fingernails digging into my back. More.

Her legs around me, pulling me deeper. More.

The heat our bodies created. More.

"So close," she moaned, yet still she cried, "More."

We were the same, we were one, so close that our desire was shared and multiplied. But still we moved in time with each other, searching relentlessly for more.

And then I felt it, more, it was there in the way her fingers dug deeper and how every word that passed her lips was incoherent. Our movement became quicker and desperate, frenzied, until finally we reached the summit, only to be falling seconds later.

Except we were falling together, just as we were meant to be, and as we came back down to Earth, I heard my name escaping her lips over and over. Being mesmerised by the sound, I pressed my lips against her skin and whispered, "More."

As I opened my eyes, I realised I'd fallen asleep, and it took me a moment to work out what had woken me up. But when I heard Amelia cry out again, I knew exactly what it was. I stood up, leaving my glass on the table and went into the bedroom.

She was sitting up, her shoulders sagging as she cried. But the moment she saw me, she stopped, and before I even made a move to pick her up, she had her arms raised, ready. I gave her a tired smile as I picked her up, letting her rest her head on my shoulders.

"What's wrong, sweetie? Was it wakin' up in the dark?" I murmured, rubbing my hand up and down her back. "Your momma told me that when she was younger, she would hate wakin' up in complete darkness, and so her daddy would sit with her each time she woke up and started to cry."

I shifted her in my arms, and then placed a kiss on her forehead. "I told her, before you were born, that I wanted to be the one to do that for you. So here I am, sweetie, and there's nothin' to be afraid of, I promise."

When I walked back into the main room, she looked at Alice for a brief moment, but didn't move, or try to get to her. I ignored the slight twinge in my chest as I sat down and lent back, just as I had done earlier. I settled Amelia against my chest, knowing that the sound of my heartbeat, and the steady rise and fall of my breathing would calm her.

If she weren't so tired, she would have moved away, but instead, she took hold of my hand, idly playing with one of my fingers. I used my other hand to run through her hair, marvelling at the length of it. For months, she'd barely had any, but now it was finally growing, and I knew that the older she got, the thicker the curls would get. They would have to be cut at some point, and I wasn't looking forward to that day.

When Rosalie was a baby, her hair had been like Amelia's was now. As she grew up, her hair grew longer, and the ends were incredibly curly. But once Mom cut her hair, the curls never grew back. I didn't want that to happen with Amelia.

I snuck a glance at Alice and saw that she was watching us, with a familiar smile on her face. She would love to brush through Amelia's hair, I thought to myself. I could picture her spending ages, making sure it looked perfect. I smiled faintly to myself as I remembered the promise Alice had made before Amelia was born that she wouldn't let Amelia dye a blue streak in her hair. Of course, back then I'd been adamant Amelia would have Alice's raven black hair.

Turning back to Amelia, my eyes landed on the hand she was holding, I saw the thin scar that stretched from just below my thumb, to the bottom of my forefinger. Her fingers brushed against it, making my thumb twitch slightly.

"Checking out my battle scars, huh?" I said softly, not wanting to startle her. "I got that the day you were born, you know."

As I curled my hand around hers, hiding the scar from my view, I began telling her about the events of that day, just over a year ago.

One year previous.

Rousing from my sleep, I was certain I heard something smashing. Using the palm of my hand to rub the sleep from my eyes, I rolled over, expecting to find Alice lying next to me. When I found her side of the bed empty and cold, I frowned, knowing the pregnancy must have been keeping her up anoth-

"Jasper!"

I bolted upright at the sound of my name. Throwing the covers back, I scrambled out of bed and ran from the room, heading towards where I'd heard her call from. The lights were on downstairs, so I took three steps at a time to get to her quicker.

Except, as I reached the bottom floor, I didn't see the smashed glass, nor did I see the puddle of water surrounding it, and as soon as my foot came in contact with it, I slipped. I cussed loudly as my hand, the one I used to help brace the fall, landed on one of the shards of glass. Yanking my hand away, I grimaced when I saw the blood already oozing out of the cut.

"Jasper?" Alice shrieked from across the room. "Are you okay?"

"Fuck," I growled under my breath as I pulled the glass out my hand. I quickly stood up then and went over to Alice who was leaning against the counter with one hand on her swollen stomach. When she saw the blood, she let out a strangled cry.

"I'm sorry, I dropped the glass," she told me between laboured breaths. "I should have said something as you came down."

I ignored her and grabbed a towel from the side, wrapping it around my hand, and then I asked, "Is it Amelia? Is she comin'?"

Alice nodded, her face scrunched into a painful grimace. "I think so. I thought it was just a false alarm, but they're getting quicker. We need to go to the hospital!"

My whole body froze as I tried to comprehend what was happen. Holy shit, I'm going to be a father soon.

"But… she's not due for two weeks!" I cried, completely forgetting about the stinging pain on my hand.

Alice gave me a long stare. "I don't think she cares when she's due, Jas. She's coming now!"

"Okay, okay," I said, more to myself than Alice, trying to get myself under control. "Just keep breathin'."

"I am breathing." She spoke through gritted teeth. "Go get the hospital bag, and take me to the God damn hospital!"

Not needing to be told twice, I ran across the room and grabbed the bag out the closet. It had been in there ever since the midwife told us to have it prepared if the baby came earlier than planned.

I froze and dropped the bag when Alice cried out as another contraction started. We'd planned this, even practised it a couple of times. But now that it was the real thing, I was falling to pieces. I mentally slapped myself, trying to snap out of it.

Picking the bag up once again, I ran for my shoes, pulling them on in the next instant. As soon as I was ready, I went to Alice, took her hand and slowly led her down the steps and out to the car. I grimaced with each moan and groan that came from Alice, hoping that the roads were empty so that I could get her to the hospital quicker. It didn't matter if I broke the speed limit, right?

"Holy mother of crap," Alice gasped, clutching at her stomach once again. "This little one sure doesn't want me to forget what it feels like to go into labour."

I was certain that after tonight, my face would be a permanent grimace. I hated seeing Alice in pain, and when there was nothing I could do to stop it, I felt extremely useless.

"What are you waiting for? Christmas?" she cried, making me jump back into action. But as soon as I went to change gear, I pulled my hand back, hissing in pain. I'd all but forgotten about the cut up until that point. But knowing that the pain wasn't a tenth of what Alice was going through, I kept quiet.

"Is your hand okay?" Alice asked as we neared the hospital. She hadn't had a contraction in a couple of minutes, and I hoped that we'd be in the hospital before she had another.

In answer to her question, I nodded, even though there were patches of blood seeping through the layers of towel I'd used to cover it. She didn't say anything, as at the same moment, the hospital came into sight. I didn't bother with the parking lot, and instead, went straight to the front so I could get her in as soon as possible.

"Wait here," I told her as I opened the door. "I'll get someone to help."

With that, I shot from the car and ran to the entrance. As soon as I was inside, I went to the nearest nurse. She took one look at my hand and pointed towards a waiting area without letting me speak.

"No, it's not for me," I said, stopping her from turning away. "It's my wife, she went into labour. She's outside in the car."

After that, it was a blur as the nurse called for someone to get a wheelchair outside for Alice. Less than a minute later, I was helping Alice out of the car and into the chair. As soon as we were inside, another nurse signalled for us to follow her. But before I could move, the nurse I'd first talked to held me back.

"You need to get that hand sorted out," she informed me. "I can deal with it now."

I shook my head. "Are you crazy? My wife is goin' into labour! I'm not goin' to leave her now. What if sh-"

"Jasper." I stopped midsentence and turned to Alice. She was half turned in her chair, looking up at me. "Just go with her, okay? I'll be fine."

I bit my lip into my mouth, knowing I didn't want to leave her for even a second. But this wasn't going to be an argument I'd win, so I sighed, defeated, then bent down and kissed her quickly, but passionately on the lips.

"I love you," I murmured. "I'll be as quick as I can."

She nodded. "I love you, too."

My heart swelled in my chest as I stared at her. "I'll come find you soon, I promise."

She grinned at me as the nurse began to wheel her away. "I know you will," she called out. Just before she went out of sight, she blew me a kiss. I didn't have time to send one back to her.

"Mr Whitlock, the sooner your hand is treated, the sooner you can get back to her," the nurse said to me, slightly impatient.

I turned back to her once Alice was completely out of sight. "I know, I know," I said with a slight laugh. I was too excited about becoming a father to truly be mad at her. Soon we'd be a family, and this silly little cut will be completely forgotten.

As the memory faded away, I looked down at Amelia who had finally fallen asleep. Her hands were curled into my shirt, as if I was her comfort blanket. I wanted to smile; I wanted to feel the same comfort she was feeling in that moment. But now that she was asleep, the irrevocable loneliness filled my chest, just as it did every night.

"I didn't know that would be the last time I saw her alive," I whispered, the lump in my throat making it hard to speak.

I turned my head, then, and looked at Alice once again. The same smile greeted me, just like every time I saw her. I looked away from her face, and focused on the gold frame that surrounded it. It was the last picture I ever took of her, and after that moment, my memories were really all I had left.

So I closed my eyes, like I did every night, and pictured that first day I ever saw her. A tear rolled down my cheek as I remembered the chalk on her face, and eccentric blue streak in her hair.

Nine years had passed since I first met her. But to me, in that moment, it felt like yesterday.

A/N: Raise your hand if you were expecting that ending. If you know me, you'll know I'm in love with the idea of an angst filled story. This one was relatively happy, until the end that is. Anyway, there will be another one shot posted in the next few weeks that pairs with this. If you wanted to read that too, add me to author alerts.

Please review! And if you wanted to vote for me, check out the Jasper's Darlins website. The submission deadline is November 14th, so voting will start some time after that.

ETA: I won! *dances* I got 1st place for Best Canon and Best T Rated story. Thank you to anyone who voted for me!