Firstly the boring part: I do not own Twilight or any of its characters. I just play God with them.

I finally have it done! Here is the first couple story for Bloody Fingerprints. If you have never read that before, head on over there to check it out, otherwise this will make no sense. My vampires are a little different from Stephenie's vampires, so just head on over there if you want to get the context.

This is Alice and Jasper, the most popular couple voted in the poll. After reading this, please could you go on and vote on who you want to hear about next. We currently have a tie between Esme and Carlisle and Rosalie and Emmett.

The lemon is courtesy of musegirl, and she has done and amazing job. Thank you so much!

Anyway, I hope you like this…

The Crazy Girl and Man in the Rain

You know those dreams that keep on coming back? You don't know why but like commercial on T.V. it keeps on returning. I have one of those. It always comes at least once a week, for as long as I could remember. It always gave me hope, like seeing an old relative. It was the one good thing I could count on…

"Alice! Alice, stop screaming!"

"Alice, please, its only a dream."

"For goodness sake girl, wake up."

"ALICE!"

Rude hands grabbed and shook me, tearing the forbidden nightmare away from my eyes. A loud keening shriek rattled my ears and it took me a while to figure out where it came from.

When I did I shut my mouth and silenced my sore voice box.

I blinked open my eyes and saw my parents faces. They were still in their pyjamas, my father looking irritated, my mother concerned. They stood awkwardly by my bed, looking totally out of place amongst the pink and white of my bedroom. My little sister Cynthia stood by the door, eyes glassy as she clutched Strawberry to her chest, sucking heavily on her thumb.

"What in the Lord's name were you dreaming about?" my father asked me angrily, "That was the third time you have woken me up this week! I am going on television tomorrow Alice, debating with that corpse Carlisle Cullen. I can't be so tired that I look like a zombie on national television! Do you understand me?"

My father was in a towering rage. His new church, Milites Christi was the most important thing to him right now. He had to look like the healthy human being he is.

"Sorry," I whispered, pulling my duvet around myself, "It was…one of those dreams."

They both stiffened, my mother's look of fear increasing and greedy interest sparked in my father's eyes, "Is there anything about me?" he asked eagerly, scrubbing at the slight scruff on his cheeks.

I shook my head, my eyes seeing the blood all over again, "No, just a murder."

He huffed and said, "Useless witch-child." He jabbed a finger at the cross hanging on the wall, "Go pray for repentance before you go back to sleep." He stormed away, slamming the door behind him. I flinched and curled in further to my bed.

Mom smiled weakly at me, eyes glittering as she looked like a fading ghost amongst my things. "Listen to your Poppa, Mary Alice."

I nodded, kneeling in front of the cross on the bare wall. My knees ached and chilled against the stone ground and I winced, clasping my hands together in prayer.

Mom left quietly, but Cynthia remained, still sucking on her thumb furiously. She waited until my prayers were finished before speaking. "You haff anover bad dweam?" she lisped around her thumb.

"Yes I had a bad dream," I replied, staggering to my feet, goose flesh stubbling my arms and legs. "But I'm all better now."

Cynthia darted forwards, her long braided hair jumping with her quick steps. "Can I sweep wiff you? I can push the dreams away for you."

I smiled warmly at her, settling back into bed, "That's sweet of you Thia. C'mere."

She ran towards me, long braid jumping along her back. I threw my duvet over us and we stared at each other, buried in the cotton cocoon. "What was ith abouth?" Cynthia lisped again, her black curls escaping from her braid.

I pulled her thumb out of her mouth and brushed back her hair, "Baddies. Villains. Dastardly plans. People sleeping and never waking up. Stuff like that. I don't want to give you nightmares." Dark red crimson flashed in front of my eyes again and I forced it away.

"You shouldn't listen to Poppa. He's being a meanie," Cynthia whispered, green eyes sparkling, "Once all the baddy suckers are gone, evewyfing will be normal. Right?"

I just smiled softly at her, and stroked back her hair. "Go to sleep Thia. Its school tomorrow."

She smiled my favourite toothy smile at me, with a few teeth missing, and closed her lavender coloured eyelids. I watched her until her breaths became even and slow before closing my own eyes too.

Later that day…

"I'm here to see the Chief? Its urgent," I told the woman at reception of the police station.

Ms Sneddon gave me a sceptical look, "Chief Swan's busy at the moment."

"Please, just tell him I'm here," I said, twisting my fingers around the strap of my purse.

"Hmm…" she gave me a sceptical look but paged the Chief anyway.

His reply was instant, "Let her through."

She scowled and jerked her head towards the Chief's office. I smiled sweetly at her and hurried towards his office, my pastel coloured skirt scratching against the skin coloured tights I was wearing. I was scared of someone who knew my father seeing me. My Poppa would kill me if he knew I was doing this. "You can't reveal your disability to anyone. What would it look like if the Reverend had a daughter who has been touched by Satan's kiss?"

I nodded mutely and said, "I understand Poppa."

Chief Swan was at his desk, brow furrowed over some important looking paperwork. His entire desk in fact was covered in papers, his little name plaque nearly buried. It didn't cover the picture of his daughter though. That stood proudly in sight, showing a happy, smiling, Bella Swan, dressed in what looked like an oversized fishing jacket. A rare sight.

He glanced up and gave me a small smile, "Just give me a minute."

I nodded, sitting down in one of the seats in front of his desk.

I like Chief Swan. He doesn't screw around. The first time I came here and told him what I could do, he didn't freak out like I thought he would. He took it in his stride and we came to an agreement. He wouldn't tell anyone where he got his sources from in exchange for knowing what I saw. Win-win scenario.

"Damn vampers," Chief Swan muttered, "All these new laws are giving me a headache."

I smiled in sympathy, my leg jigging up and down. It had been about 3 weeks since the vampires came out of the darkness. Father was all against them of course, his speeches full of 'unholy' 'scourges of the earth' and 'abnormal'. But I wasn't. He was one of them. My man in the rain.

The Chief cleared his desk and pulled out pen and paper. He focused his warm brown eyes on me and said in that calm voice of his, "So what do you have for me this time?"

I crossed my legs and began to tell him my dream from last night. "It was in daylight. It was in a house somewhere, a kitchen. I saw a clock, a newspaper and a couple of letters: the first said 3:45pm, the second said March 2nd 2010 and the letters had an address of 54 Cumberland Drive, Port Angeles, Washington. They were addressed to either Jeremy Tucker or Marilynn Tucker. A woman, middle-aged, quite skinny, with dyed red hair and blue eyes, was cooking by the stove, humming along to the radio. The murderer entered through the back door, he managed to get through by picking the lock. He had dogtags, so he must have been in the military at some point but I didn't see his name. He was dressed in blue jeans, a red-checkered shirt with rolled up sleeves and timberland boots. He had brown eyes and short blonde hair. He treaded through to the kitchen and sneaked up on her from behind. He stabbed her in the side several times with what looked like a kitchen knife grabbed from a kitchen tabletop. When she was down, he brought out his own penknife and…stabbed her eyes out, shouting 'you betrayed me! You betrayed me! You betrayed me!'" Remembering the image made bile rise up my throat. I forced it down and then said, "That's when I woke up."

I waited until he'd stopped writing down the details before he glanced up at me, "I'm sorry you had to see that Alice."

That was exact same thing he said to me every week.

I shrugged, "You know I've seen worse. I'm just glad I don't see family members in them."

"Know the feeling," he muttered, tugging on his moustache. "Anything else?"

"That's it really. It's been kind of quiet recently. It feels kinda like a calm before the storm, you know what I mean? I don't like it."

His brow creased, "Have you considered talking to a shrink?"

Before the words were even out of his mouth I shook my head violently from side to side, "No freaking way. When they find out it hasn't improved since I was little, they'll drug me up and when that doesn't work, they'll lock me up in a room with soft walls and throw away the key. I can forget about seeing my family ever again. My father will sooner disown me for his own stupid church than admit he's related to me."

I stopped myself before I could really get into it, "Sorry, that was too much."

"S'alright. No offence, but I never liked him. I'm not going to be a part of his congregation any time soon."

I smiled, "Trust me, you don't wanna be. Boring and repetitive."

"You doing anything else this weekend?" he asked politely.

"Well there's the Meet 'n' Greet Barbecue my father holds every month on Sunday. Apart from that, not a lot. You?"

"Ah workin' here, fishin' with the boys, the normal stuff," he said.

I glanced at my watch, "I gotta go. I need to pick up Thia from Girl Scouts."

"Right," he said, smiling warmly at me as we stood up, "remember, if you need any help, I'm here, ok?"

"Thanks and I'll call you when the next relevant vision come in," I shook his hand, "Be safe and tell Bella I said 'hi'."

"Will do," he said, already drawn back to his papers, "Be safe Alice."

"You too," I murmured as I closed the door behind me.

You can probably guess by now what I can do. You're probably thinking, 'wow that's really cool! I wish I was like her.'

You're a fool then.

I have seen some pretty disturbing shit: 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, The Thailand Tsunami, London Bombings, Haiti earthquake… I saw it all in excruciating detail. They came in different forms: visions, dreams, and even absentmindedly drawn doodles. It had been that way since I was small. I only really saw terrible events; the good ones were a rarity. I knew about death, rape and murder before I was 5 years old. I used to think everyone could do what I could and used to babbler about at school. That earned me several trips to the principal's office for telling nasty stories.

My parents tried to 'fix' me. Have me praying an hour a day, knees set on scattered rice. Poppa giving me the belt. Putting me in isolation. When these didn't work, they sank to the level of sending me to expensive shrinks that tried to crack into my head. They tried to put a label on me. They told my parents that I had a way of reading the information in the papers and on the news to predict the future. Then they said dirty word of 'schizophrenia' and gave me risperidone. My father had me again praying on my knees on the concrete floor in front of Jesus suffering on the cross, in the basement for an hour everyday after that. "Pray that God will clean you of your sins. That He will touch you with His holy light."

All I got was a pair of sore knees.

I knew schizophrenia wasn't it. My mind wasn't broken, not in that sense anyway. The day I got the drugs, I went home and flushed them down the toilet.

Now my visions were a normal part of my life. So normal in fact, Poppa likes to take advantage of them. Sometimes I get the odd vision about a vampire killing, or some turn in the religious community that would ultimately help Poppa plan his next move. "It's the only good thing that has come out of this disaster," he declared over the breakfast table one morning, "And if you reveal this to anyone Alice Mary Brandon, I will send you to an asylum and you won't be coming back."

I chewed on my tongue and nodded mutely as I continued to help feed Thia her Cheerios.

At school, I was just the pencil necked virgin girl with a chastity ring and a crazy Bible bashing father. I sat with the other 'pencil-necked virgins', staring out into the world I so wanted to be a part of.

But I knew, one day, things were going to change.

One vision kept on repeating, over and over, for as long as I could remember.

Apple pie. It always started with apple pie. Like a movie, the vision panned out from the pastry, showing a table set with casseroles and pies. I watched as the vision swept across a group of people in Sunday clothes, clutching small glasses of orange juice and apple juice. They stood huddled in a white marquee, as torrential rain thundered away in a sodden garden. My garden.

The vision swept away from the marquee, through the torrential rain and out into the forest surrounding the garden. It appeared that we were following a pale figure, who was running, stumbling through the undergrowth. At a closer look the figure had short dark hair, my hair, which was sticking to the nape of my neck and stained face. "Wait! Stop! Please!" I was crying, voice breaking with the force of emotions.

A darker figure was flitting in front of me, blurred with speed. A vampire.

Suddenly the vampire stopped, water dripping from the rattails ends of his dark gold hair. I stopped, water dripping down my nose, goose bumps pebbling my skin, I said again, "Please stop. I know you."

The man finally turned, water running down his nose and cheeks. It didn't matter how many times I saw this vision; he was always so beautiful. Vivid azure eyes burned with a furious intensity and he trembled, dark clothes clinging to his well-shaped form. There was a silence, the thunderous rain was all that filled that silence. We would just look at each other I smiled, cocking my head onto one side, "You've kept me waiting a long time."

There was a pause, and he would grin, revealing elongated teeth. "I'm sorry ma'am," he said, voice deep and smooth, dipping his head in a polite gesture. I would hold out my hand, water trickling from the tips of my fingers. He would raise his own hand, gently probing for my own.

And the vision would end just as our fingertips touched.

Sunday morning was met with a literal rainstorm. It was like the angels of God were heaving buckets over the side of heaven, drenching the world below. As I got dressed for Church, I watched the poor men out in the rain set up the white marquee for the barbecue.

I looked in the mirror, plucking at the conservative pale blue dress that fell to my knees, with lace around the hems. I so wanted to tear it off. I wanted to wear clothes I peaked at in the pages of sneaked magazines and windows of shops. Clothes that had fancy foreign names and pretty vibrant colours. Poppa said those clothes were inspired by the Devil and were only suitable for whores and heretics. Didn't stop me wanting them all the less.

Looking at the dress and listening to the rain made a link slide into place in my mind. That dream. The dream that had comforted me for years, which had kept me going all these years…was it?... no, couldn't be…but… In the pit of my stomach, a tendril of something close to euphoria curled its way up my body, making my heart beat faster, a smile close to the brightness of the sun igniting my features. My man in the rain was coming for me today. With his beautiful eyes, gold hair and sharp features. He was coming for me. I squealed, jumping up and down like a 5 year old for minute. He's coming for me. He's coming for me!

I could hardly stand Church. Sitting there while my father preached about the abominations that were vampires. I could hardly stand greeting the congregation as they trooped out into the rain. I fidgeted like crazy, shifting from foot to foot and fiddling with my watchstrap. "Whatcha fidgetin' for?" Cynthia asked, her soft small hand in my own, "You got ants in your pants?"

I looked down at her and a morsel of guilt wheedled in amongst my happiness. I knew I had to leave Cynthia behind. If only for a little while. Once I had settled down with my man in the rain, I would come back for her. I sent a silent prayer to God for this to happen as I said, "I'm just excited for something…you know I love you Thia. I'll do anything to make you happy, you know that, right?"

She frowned, cute little dimples creasing her face, "Uh huh, I know that…why do I need to know it?"

"You'll see soon. Everything's gonna get better soon," I said, tucking her long black hair behind her shoulders.

Later…

"…and it was just such a nightmare! I was in the kitchen for the rest of the evening. Honestly, you can't get good service anymore," my mother's friend of a friend finished talking and the rest of them tittered like flock of canaries.

I pretended to find it funny, before taking a sip of my orange juice. Our garden was filled with my father's colleagues and their wives and their children. The air was filled with the sounds of polite conversation and the smells of barbecue. We were all huddled underneath the marquee, which was decorated with multi-coloured bunting. There were even cardboard cut outs of my father, smiling his winning smile.

I broke away from the group and drifted towards the entrance of the marquee. The rain thundered down, creating greyish puddles in the grass. Thunder rumbled across the sky, flashes of lightning cracking the broiling sky. "Where are you?" I whispered into the rain, "You should be coming now. Where are you?"

"What are you looking for honey?" Poppa was suddenly beside me, also looking out into the rain.

"Just watching the rain Poppa," I replied, "Someone told me once that God was in the rain."

"Indeed He is honey. Washing away our sins and all the evil abominations of this world."

My urge to scream at him increased ten-fold, "Hmm," I murmured, taking another sip of orange juice.

"I remember when I was your age. Things were different then. God was everywhere, more prevalent. He wasn't sullied by the filth of this world. By the detritus-"

That's when I saw it. The flash of black material amongst the trees before it was gone just as quickly. I dropped my orange juice and sprinted forwards, feet splashing in the puddles. "Wait! Come back!" I shouted, bunching my skirt into my fists around my thighs and really beginning to run towards the last place I saw him.

Within minutes I was soaked to the skin, jumping across dead logs and tangled ferns. My flat shoes flipped off, leaving me barefoot through the undergrowth. "Please stop!" I screamed over the sound rolling thunder, "I can't keep up with you. Wait!"

Another flash of dark clothes, this time a little closer. Smiling triumphantly, I picked up the pace, ignoring the cold and the pain in my feet and sides. This was my chance and I wasn't about to let it slip through my fingers. "Stop!"

I nearly crashed into him. He had stopped abruptly, his back turned away from me. His hair was sodden as were his clothes. "Please stop, I know you." I whispered, pushing back my sopping wet hair from my eyes.

He finally turned, and I looked on his face for the first time in reality. Wet blonde curls spiralled around his face, is eyes the colour of a storm tossed sea. His thin dark shirt clung to his carved chest, his sodden jeans ending in a pair of cowboy boots. As soon as his eyes landed of me they lightened to a deep blue not unlike the colour cornflowers. They were all I could focus on. I toppled into them, spiralling into who knows what. For a moment, I forgot where I was and what I was doing. It was just me in a bottomless blissful oblivion. And then I found the ground. It was like an empty party of myself was finally being filled in, piece by piece, until I finally felt entire.

I was back in the forest, the rain still falling around us. He looked stunned, as if a bolt of lightning had just hit him. I beamed, salt tears now mixing with the rainwater, "You've kept me waiting for a long time."

He smiled back, fangs protruding over his lower lip, dipping his head politely towards me, "I'm sorry ma'am." His voice was as smooth as my dreams had depicted it and I giggled, finally realising that this was finally happening. I raised my hand, wanting, yearning for him to touch me finally. He did the same, and our fingers brushed. Sparks ran up and down my skin, sending shivers along my spine.

Our fingers interlocked, tangled and he pulled me forward, encircling his arms around my waist. I was so small though next to him, at least two heads smaller than him. He hoisted me up, feet dangling by his shins, "I'm Jasper Cullen," he whispered into my ear, "What's yours?" his arm snagging around my knees before he hoisted me up.

My arms wound instinctively around his neck, "Alice, Alice Brandon. It's a pleasure to meet you." I pressed closer to his cold wet body, shivering profusely.

"I'll get you somewhere warm," he whispered, "I'll help you get warm."

Something hot and unfamiliar coiled in my stomach at his words. I moaned, arms tightening even further.

He growled, the sound vibrating throughout my body. And he ran. By God did he run. The forest blurred and sped by but I was uninterested. I was more interested in the way his body moved under my own. The way his muscles rippled. I buried my nose into his neck and breathed deep, his scent of wild chamomile and pine.

It made something unfathomable tug in my gut and I bit my lip. I barely noticed when we entered a house. I only noticed when I felt him set me on something soft and dry. We were in what appeared to be a bedroom, decorated in neutral shades of black and white.

"We should get you out of this dress, it's soaked through," he murmured and I hummed my assent. Suddenly, the God-awful dress I had been wearing was in shreds and thrown to the floor, leaving me in only my red bra and panties. I heard a low rumble come from his chest as his eyes raked over me. A flood of heat rushed through me, centring between my thighs and a low moan escaped me. "Red?" he whispered and traced a finger along one strap.

I nodded shyly, "These were the only kinds of clothing I was allowed to shop for on my own. What about you? Your clothes are drenched, too."

His eyes turned cobalt and he smiled again, his fangs elongating even more. "You are absolutely right, darlin'." Faster than I could see, he had stripped down to nothing but his briefs and it was all I could do not to drool over the gorgeous body before me.

"Alice?"

My eyes snapped back up to his azure ones, "Yes?"

"I…I have to Mark you now." His voice trailed off as he dropped his eyes to my throat and licked his lips. His gaze fell further, trailing over me once more before he lifted his eyes back to mine. They were such a deep navy color I had trouble discerning where his pupils ended and his irises began. "I have to make you mine."

"Please," I whispered and tentatively reached one hand out for him.

The next thing I knew, his body was covering me and I was once again in his arms. Our eyes met for a moment before Jasper dipped his head and brought his lips to meet mine. A small whimper escaped me and the gentle pressing of our lips became hungry. His tongue slid into my mouth and danced with my own and his arms tightened around me while my hands reached up and grabbed his hair, tugging slightly.

I felt his fangs press against my lower lip as he continued kissing me senseless and the heat between my legs turned into a throbbing, insistent ache I was desperate to answer. I could literally feel the wetness on my thighs and my hips pressed against his on their own.

I heard his growl and felt him push back with his own hips. My thighs parted and then he was settled right between them and I felt his hard erection thrust right where I needed it most. I groaned and bucked against him, feeling delicious tendrils of pleasure as his body rubbed me exactly how I wanted. Jasper finally moved his mouth from mine; kissing and licking his way down to my throat before lightly grazing his fangs along the sensitive skin there.

"Please, Jasper," I begged. "Please make me yours."

He let out a strangled moan and I felt a quick, sharp flash of pain before a rush of endorphins pulsed through me. My hands gripped his hair harder and I held his head to me, afraid to let such an incredible feeling end. My entire body felt consumed by him and the desire burning inside me roared into an inferno. I ached, wanted, and needed in ways I'd never felt before and didn't completely understand. I just knew I had to have him and would die if he ever let me go.

He started caressing his hands over my body, somehow ridding me of my bra and panties without once lifting his mouth from my neck. And, oh God, did his hands feel amazing. They left trails of fire in their wake and I could not stop the needy, hungry sounds coming from me. I found myself pushing at his underwear and Jasper lifted his mouth, giving one last, long lick over the wound and making me shiver violently.

He obliged me by slipping his briefs off before pressing his hot length right against my core. I moaned loudly, grabbing blindly at his hips to bring him closer, needing more friction.

"Alice, are you sure you're ready for this?" he asked in a strained voice. "We don't have to-"

"Yes! God, yes. I've been waiting my whole life for you, Jasper. Please, take me! Make me finally feel complete."

"Anything my love desires," he whispered hotly in my ear. "I will do everything I can not to hurt you, baby."

I felt him pressing gently at my entrance and I lifted my legs around his waist to ease his way. Slowly, he pushed into me and I tried to relax against the foreign pressure of him filling me. It didn't exactly hurt, but it wasn't comfortable either. Finally, though he was completely inside me and I could tell he was fighting to stay still and give me time to adjust.

After a few moments, my body started adjusting to the feeling of having him within me and I tentatively circled my hips. I gasped at the amazing sensations that one small movement created and abruptly grabbed his pelvis, grinding hard against him.

"Fuck!" he shouted and his own hands grasped at my body, holding me to him while he began to thrust in earnest. I threw my head back against the pillows as each and every movement he made sent intense pulses of pleasure rippling through me. I could hear the breathy, needy sounds coming from me, but was helpless to stop them and it seemed like each noise I made just spurred Jasper on more.

My body moved in perfect harmony with his, our motions like a dance we simply knew without thinking. Waves of ecstasy built within me as I hurtled toward the cliff I desperately wanted to fall from. I'd never experienced such wonderful pleasure before and I greedily craved more.

"Oh, God, Alice…you feel…so tight…and…fucking amazing," he moaned incoherently. "So wet…fuck!"

"Jasper!" I cried, frantically reaching for the completion his body promised with each stroke. He slipped his hand between us, his thumb finding my swollen clit and circling it. I screamed out as my body clamped down on his and sweet ecstasy flooded my entire being. I felt my own orgasm tip Jasper over the edge and he came hard, buried inside me.

The last thing I remember before sleep claimed me, was Jasper shifting us so that I was cradled against him and I felt an overwhelming sense of love and finally being exactly where I was supposed to be.

When I woke up I kept my eyes shut. I prayed it wasn't all a dream. I prayed that I wouldn't wake up at home with Jesus suffering on the Cross looking down on me. I prayed that everything I had just experienced was real.

But then I was aware that somebody was tracing lazy patterns across my lower back and a dull throbbing in the side of my neck. A smile as wide as the Pacific Ocean spread across my face and I shifted closer to the warm body that lay next to me. "Why are you smilin', darlin'?"

I cracked open my eyes stared at the beautiful man who lay beside me. It wasn't a dream! Here he was, right next to me, real as anything. He grinned, hand travelling up and down my back. "I'm happy," I whispered, "For the first time in a long time, I'm happy."

Tears began to well up and I blinked them away, "Alice, c'mon don't cry." He pulled me even closer, until I was buried in his chest. All I could smell was his scent. It filled me up, engulfed me. I giggled euphorically into his skin and my tears dissipated. I looked up into his face, pulling my hand up to trace his features. "You're real! You're actually real."

He raised his eyebrow at me, stroking my hair back, "Yes, I'm real. Why wouldn't I be real?"

I smiled, curling a lock of his curly hair around my finger. 'I've been dreaming about you for as long as I can remember."

His eyes widened, "You're an…Oracle?"

I frowned, "A what?"

"An Oracle. A person, usually a woman, who has dreams or visions about the future. It sounds like that is what you are."

"Oh," I said, "I didn't know my condition had a name."

"Has it been a problem for you?" Jasper asked.

"I can't control it," I said, "it comes and goes whenever it pleases. And its hardly ever good visions. They're always terrible ones, ones that belong to horror movies. And I can't shut them out. Believe me, I've tried. I even agreed to get drugs for it, but it never stops, never."

Jasper frowned deeper, making me want to try and smooth out the creases, "No wonder you looked sad in the marquee. You've seen too much. We'll help you though. We'll help you control it."

I smiled, a warm feeling rippling through my body. How could a creature that was supposed to be so evil, so abominable, could make me feel so loved? So cherished? "Who's 'we'?" I asked placing by head on my one of hands.

"My family," he said, curling a lock of my hair around his finger, "There are my two brothers, Emmett who's older than me by a year and Edward, who's younger than me by a year. They'll love you, chirpy little thing you are, then there's my mother Esme, who will treat you like she's been your daughter for centuries and my father Carlisle. I'll admit, he's a little intimidating at first, but he'll warm up to you mighty fast. It'll be like you have always been a part of this family. What about you? Got any siblings?"

"I've got a little sister Cynthia, she's 6 years old and-" realising who I was talking about I sat up abruptly, clutching the white sheets around my chest, "We have to get her! I promised her I'd do anything to make her happy. We need to get her or-"

Jasper sat up with me and put a finger to my lips, "Your sister is fine. We will get her as soon as you are strong enough to do so. In the mean time, you've got to recuperate your strength. The Marking takes a lot out of you." He moved his hand to stroke back my hair and trail his hands down my back, "Lie down, will ya, please?" He was already lying down; arms behind his head, looking like the king of the whole world

I pouted but complied, setting my head on his warm chest, so that I was full flush against him. He groaned and I felt something stir by my lower abdomen. I raised my eyebrows at him and he smirked, "I'm a vampire darlin'. I have high stamina."

"I'm sure you do." I said, giggling mischievously, "Speaking of which…shouldn't we have had protection of some kind?" I looked up at him cautiously, "Don't get me wrong, I want children, but not now."

"Good question," he said, tracing the line of my spine, "Your body's not ready to carry my child yet. By Marking you, I've given you an upgrade of sorts: you'll be stronger, more sensitive, heal faster and bear vampire children. But that usually takes a week. We won't have to worry quite yet." And he grinned wolfishly at me, "Which is just as well."

I giggled again, before saying, "If Poppa knew where I was right now, what I am talking about…" another realisation hit me, "I can swear!"

"What?"

"I can swear now. And I mean proper swearing," I licked my lips and said, "Crap. Shit. Hell. Ass. Damn," And like a two year old I giggled uncontrollably, before saying, "Fuck, oh that's a bad one! Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" I laughed, "Gimme another one, so I can say it."

He was smiling indulgently at me, something dark and scorching in his eyes, "Do you have any idea how sexy it is to hear you say fuck?"

I grinned, "not as sexy as actually doing it."

His fangs were properly elongated now, and he rolled us earlier, trapping me under his forearms, "You're bad." He whispered, peppering kisses all over my face.

I grinned back, capturing his lips in my own, "Yeah I am." I whispered against them.

There wasn't a lot of talking after that.

We had finally managed to part after God knows how long in bed. We had showered together and dressed together, the sound of rain heavy on the windowsill. Jasper left the room for a few minutes (I honestly thought I was going to collapse) and came back with the most gorgeous blue Chloe's dress that fell to my knees and had long sleeves. It felt wonderful to finally have real silk against my skin instead of itchy cotton wool. I brought the sleeve to my nose and took a deep breath, inhaling the expensive perfume that emanated there. I knew I was never going to put myself in awful church approved dresses ever again, for as long as I lived.

"My mother got your dress size and bought a few things for you. I'm sure you two will go on a more extensive shopping trip later," Jasper said, handing me the dress. He kissed my temple and moved away to his wardrobe.

"When are we getting Cynthia then? I can't leave her there for long. Its not fair," I said, waiting for him to come out of his walk-in wardrobe, "I'm not having her spend another minute in that house. My father, he'll poison her, like he tried to poison me with his words." Jasper walked out, his white shirt unbuttoned, jeans slung low on his hips.

"We'll get her soon. You shouldn't worry so much," he said, coming towards me, staring deeply into my eyes.

"Mm, you don't know my father. He may be a preacher but the phrase 'Satan in a Sunday hat' definitely comes to mind when describing him." I began to button up his shirt, fingers brushing gently against his rippling stomach and chest muscles.

I asked him a question that had always puzzled me about how we met, "How did you know where you find me? Why were you out in the rain?"

His large callused hands slid down to my hips, "I wanted to take a closer look at the Milites Christi. Check if they are really as scary as they make themselves out to be."

"And are they?" I asked, looking reproachfully at him.

"No. Scared and hateful people in Sunday clothes. Nothing to worry about, but we'll have to keep an eye on them. They could become aggressive and organised very quickly," he pushed back my hair, "But we'll worry about that later. Its time for you to-"

He was cut off by a loud rapping noise on the door, "Yo, lovebirds! There's an angry preacher at the front door asking to talk to Alice."

I froze, my body going cold. "Poppa, he's going to kill me."

Jasper's sky blue eyes darkened to navy and his chest rumbled with a snarl, "over my staked corpse."

"He's got a woman and a little girl with him too," the voice continued, "both look pretty terrified…"

I bolted towards the door, wrenched it open and streaked down the stairs, ignoring the big burly guy who stood by the door. "Well don't mind me!" The guy called after me, my own steps thundering, echoing along the hall. I skidded in my bare feet as I got to the bottom floor but managed to make it to the front door unscathed. Poppa stood with his stiff sweating upper lip, his hands fisted around Thia's hand. Mom looked terrified, practically hiding behind Poppa's broad shoulders. Thia was crying, great fat tears rolling down her tomato red cheeks.

"Poppa, what are you doing here?" I shakily asked him.

His eyes narrowed and he spat out in clenched teeth, "Just what I thought. Cavorting with Satan's children. I should have known." He stood with a rigid back and raised his chin, looking down his nose on me, "I always knew you were going to hell, I just didn't think it would be so soon."

I felt more than heard Jasper come up beside me, his usually warm and smooth voice was cold with barely concealed rage, "Is there a problem?"

My Poppa may be hateful, self-righteous bastard, but at least he had some guts, even if it was a fool's bravery. As my mother cowered further behind him, he puffed out his chest and stared right back at Jasper, "I'm here to tell Alice that she is no longer considered my daughter. That she is not longer a part of this family. We brought her things," he gestured to the small cardboard boxes that were slumping over in the heavy rain, "we will not have a vampire whore be a part of our sacred family." This was hardly surprising. I knew this was coming all along. I wasn't even that sad. But what happened next easily knocked the ground beneath my feet and had me scrabbling against gravity.

"You will speak to Alice with respect!" Jasper suddenly roared, looming over my father, eyes an inky blackness, fangs fully extended.

Mom screamed and scarpered down the steps before quickly barricading herself in the family sedan. Thia wailed and buried her face into Poppa's leg. "Make him go away Poppa," she whispered, "Make the bogeyman go away."

I crouched to Thia's level and tried to talk to her, "Thia, he's not going to hurt you. His name is Jasper and he is really very nice once you get to know him. He's just upset right now. He's not like the bogeyman."

One clear jade eye stared at me from the behind the scrunched up material of Poppa's trouser leg, "I'm not allowed to talk to you."

Those seven simple words nearly knocked me over. I stared dumbfounded at the small child in front of me, my mind reeling. "What?"

"Poppa says your Devil's Bride now. You're a new incarnation of Lilith. Not allowed to talk to you."

My own eyes began to sting and I whispered, "Please tell me he hasn't got to you too."

Thia continued to stare, before sticking her thumb in her mouth and looking up to Poppa, "Can whe go shoon?"

Poppa smiled a smile filled with sickening triumph and he stroked Thia's hair with his free hand, "In a minute, dear heart. Poppa's got a few things left to say."

Jasper was still glaring murderously at him, but Poppa remained unperturbed. "You will not contact us again, you will not visit us again. If I ever see you on my property I will call the police. Do I make myself clear?"

I didn't trust my voice not to shake so I nodded instead, still staring at Thia, who stared innocently back. She was no longer crying, her mouth making wet sounds around her thumb.

Jasper put an arm around me, pressing his lips against my temple. His touch managed to ground me and I leaned into his touch.

"C'mon Cynthia. Time to leave," Poppa said, pulling Thia back into the rain again.

We let them go. I watched numbly as they trooped down the steps. An idea occurred to me and I broke away from Jasper and ran down the steps. Grabbing Cynthia by the shoulders, I turned her around so she was facing me. Poppa tried to pull her away but I swatted his hand away and stared deeply into Cynthia, "Know this Thia." I said firmly, blinking away tears and rain, "I will always love you. If one day you realise what's wrong with his world, like I did, and you can't take it anymore, I will always be here. Always. If you need someone to turn to, you still have your big sister, ok? Do you understand?"

I thanked God for small mercies when she nodded, still sucking her thumb. I smiled and kissed her forehead, glad she did not recoil, "Goodbye Cynthia. Be safe."

Poppa finally pried her away from my grasp. I felt Jasper wrap his arms around me and pull me up. I buried my face into his chest and I felt him pull me up the steps.

The sound of the car was the last I heard as the door closed, and I began to weep silently into his chest.

"Jasper, is this her?" a soft warm voice asked, and I felt him nod.

"Why don't you set her down in the kitchen and get those brothers o' yours her things in from the rain, if they aren't soaked already." A warm hand on my back and the voice said again, "Come along dear. I'll make you some tea."

I turned to see a pretty woman with auburn hair and green eyes smiling warmly at me, "Kitchen is just through this way."

We all went through, Jasper still had his arm around me. The kitchen was a warm, with large brown flagstones, a red large AGA with similarly coloured fridge. Jasper sat me up by the large kitchen island, stroking the back of my head before kissing my temple again.

The woman busied herself with putting a kettle on one of the hot AGA plates before pulling out a couple of mugs, "What kind of tea do you want? Earl Grey, chamomile, peppermint or we have coffee if you prefer?"

"Uhm…I'll have the chamomile please…I'm sorry, I don't think I know your name…?" I asked, voice quivering slightly.

"Oh how rude of me, of course I haven't introduced myself. I'm Esme, Jasper's mother," she smiled warmly at me, "I'm the one you turn to if you need any girl things, since we are definitely outnumbered."

I smiled tentatively back, "I'm Alice by the way."

"I heard," Esme said, just as the kettle began to whistle, "Pretty name. If I could have had a little girl, I would have named her Alice." She began preparing the mugs, curls of steam hovering in the air.

"Thank you," I said, as I felt Jasper's fingers trail up and down my waist, "What do you mean if you 'could have had a daughter'?"

"Vampire mates can only birth 3 boys," Esme explained kindly, setting the chamomile tea in front of me, "that's the only unfortunate side of it all. I've been dealing with boisterous sons for most of my life. It will be nice to have another girl with me."

Suddenly two rather large male bodies crashed through the kitchen door, guffawing loudly as they wrestled each other to the floor. "Speak of the devil and they shall appear," Esme muttered, rolling her eyes as the men continued to fight on the floor, playful growls emanating from the tangled limbs, "Emmett! Edward! Cut it out. You're scaring Alice."

On the contrary, I was quietly giggling as the men snapped their heads up, with sparkling purple and green eyes and identical bright grins. "Sorry ma," the one with the pretty red hair said, "Jus' play fightin'."

"And I won," the bigger curly haired one said, grabbing the other's head and rubbing his knuckles hard into his skull.

"Oi!" Esme shouted, as the fighting started up again, "Not on my kitchen floor. I am not having the tiles reset for 89th time."

"You counted?" Jasper asked amusedly.

"Yes, I counted," Esme said drily, "Believe it or not, I happen to care if my house is broken apart."

Suddenly, two pairs of purple and green eyes were staring avidly at me, filled with curiosity. Jasper growled and pulled me closer to him, so I was practically sitting on his lap.

The bigger one was the first to speak, "She's tiny. How the hell did you not break her?"

My face flushed and I buried my face into Jasper's chest. It vibrated with his snarl, "Watch it Emmett. That's none of your fucking business."

"Jasper! Language!" I heard Esme exclaim, "And Emmett, be nice for God sakes. Poor girl is trying to adjust and you're certainly not helping. Apologise now."

I peeked back out and saw Emmett sigh and say, "Sorry Alice. That was inappropriate. I'm Emmett by the way, Jasper's older brother. But you can call me Em." He grinned brilliantly, almost goofily and I was reminded of a big teddy bear.

I smiled back and said, "Its nice to meet you Em." I turned to the red head, "And you must be Edward?"

Em, ruffled Edward's hair and pinched his cheek, "He's the baby. Coochie-coochie-coo."

Edward swatted at Emmett's hand, "get out of it, you fool." His playful eyes landed on me, "its nice to meet you Alice. You must think we're idiots."

"No," I said, giggling slightly, "No, you're the nicest people I have ever met."

"Aaww, ain't that cute?" Em said, "Jazz, your doll is as cute as a button."

"And mine," Jasper said, a threat hidden in his words.

"Lighten up," Edward said, rolling his eyes as he wandered over to the fridge, "She reeks of you. It would just be too weird and seemingly incestuous." He shuddered as he pulled out a bottle of crimson Vitality before shoving it in the microwave.

Esme sighed, "Honestly you two. I can't wait until you have all Marked. You'll become way more mature, like Jasper, then I can stop tearing my hair out."

"Where's father?" Jasper asked.

"Dealing with the press. The world is in uproar about all of this. It's not going to be easy," Esme said. She eyed me, "Are you tough Alice?"

I shrugged, blowing the steam from my mug before taking a drink, "I think so. I hope so."

"You don't need to be. I'll look after you," Jasper said confidently.

Behind Jasper's back, Em made a motion of sticking two fingers down his throat but I ignored him.

"There's another thing," Jasper said, teal eyes focused on me, "Alice is an Oracle."

Everyone's eyes widened and I heard Emmett swear. Esme was too shocked to notice though. "Well that's unheard of," she finally said, "We'll work something out though. We'll tell Carlisle when he gets home. But you'll be fine I'm sure. Jasper won't be the only when who will take care of you, we'll all do it." The others nodded in agreement, smiling encouringly at me

I smiled and a small part of me felt something that I hadn't ever felt before: I felt like I belonged.

"Are you ready?" Jasper asked me, looking even more nervous than ever, as we sat in the school parking lot of Forks High. People were going about their daily business but were staring curiously at our black armour plated Range Rover.

"I'm fine, really. I can't hide forever. I've had a week already, I need to show people I'm not afraid. I'm sick of being afraid," I said, taking his hand again to squeeze it, "And anyway, I've got my war paint on. No one is going to mess with me dressed like this."

He eyed the gothic black dress that fell to my knees in a series of black lace, ruffles and ribbons, with ripped green and black striped tights. My feet were encased in killer black Mary Jane heels and my make up was done to perfection: white make up caked on my face with blood red lipstick and heavy black eyeliner. My hair stuck up in odd directions instead of its usual neat little centre parting and a heavy black beaded crucifix weighted around my make up. He grinned and shook his head, "You're ridiculous, you crazy girl."

"Would you love me if I wasn't?" I asked, hands wrapping around my strap of my bag.

His hand went to the back of my neck and pulled me closer, so we were nose to nose, forehead to forehead. I released my bag and tangled my fingers into his gold hair. "I'd love you, no matter who or what you are darlin'," he whispered, before pressing his lips in a fierce kiss that took my breath away.

I don't know how long we kissed, it could have been years or a few seconds. We eventually broke apart, on my part gasping for air. "You're distracting me," I accused him through panted breaths.

"Damn, you saw right through me," he said, grinning the grin I had grown to love, "There's a very nice bed waiting for us at home. Believe it or not, we can do a lot with a bed."

"Jasper, that will not work this time," I scolded him, trying to force the impending desire back down my stomach… again, "I have to go or I'll be late for class."

He sighed and kissed my forehead, "Go before I change my mind and drag you back home, to my bed."

"See you later," I whispered, pressing my lips against his before drawing away from him.

When I got out the car, and I'll admit it, I relished the gasps and exclamations from around the parking lot. Yes, that's right bitches, I'm officially a Corpse's Bride now, and there is nothing you can do about it.

I glanced around and saw Rosalie Hale staring in shock at me, her perfect mouth half open, as her popular friends gossiped behind manicured hands. Kate Forsyth's eyes were as wide as saucers, the baseball she had been tossing forgotten on the sidewalk. Bella Swan looked at me pityingly from her the front seat of her rusty Chevvy.

I smiled at them all, hoisted my bag up my shoulder and practically skipped to the front door of the school.

What they didn't know was that I had another dream last night. They had gotten a lot better, now that Carlisle was coaching me and bringing in advice on how to control it from archives about Oracles. I was now able to channel it now, focus on a particular person's timeline or event. And last night, I had a dream concerning Rosalie, Kate and Bella's futures.

They were next.

Whoo! *wipes sweat of forehead* that was pretty intense to write! Hateful churches are hard to write about, for me anyway. I hope I got it right.

Don't get me wrong: I have nothing against religion. I'm Christian myself, but I know what's the difference between believing in something and being brainwashed into believing it. There are parts of the Bible I don't agree with, so I tend to ignore those parts. I was just exploring the not so pretty part of Christianity. Came across some pretty awful websites along the way *shudders*. Ah well, people can be douchebags.

The next chapter for BF is still in its early stages. You must get so bored with me saying this, but I do have a lot of schoolwork coming along. (I HATE French orals. Pain in the arse. Hole) But I will get something out in the near future. Fingers crossed.

Tell me what you think; I would love to hear from you. I'm very bad at replying but I will try my best!

Lotsa love,

Emily x