Kind of a short one, but a good one nonetheless. Enjoy!

"Jasper? Can we talk to you for a moment dear?"

Jasper looks up from the game he's playing with Alice and smiles, getting up and wandering over to where Carlisle and I sit at the kitchen table. "Yes?"

"Take a seat, sweetheart." I wait until he climbs up into the chair between us before continuing. "Do you remember how we said we'd try to find out more about your family?" The boy nods. "Well, we found some things, and we thought you might like to see them. Would you like to?"

He nods excitedly, watching as Carlisle pulls an old photo out of his folder. "This is your mom's family," he explains. That's her, and your dad, and you. And those are her parents."

Jasper frowns for a moment, pointing to another person in the photo. "Who's that?"

"Actually," Carlisle says, "That's who we wanted to talk to you about. That's your mom's little sister. Clara."

"I think I remember her a little," he murmurs.

Carlisle nods. "You might. From what we can tell, she lived with you and your parents for a little while. See, your grandparents died almost a year before the accident, and she was still a child. So your mom took care of her."

The boy makes a thoughtful sound. "Oh. Why did you want to talk to me about her?"

Carlisle glances over at me, and I sigh, smoothing his hair back. "Well, sweetheart, it turns out she's still alive, and she's living not too far from here, in Seattle."

He frowns again. "But…if she was still alive, why didn't she take me?" he asks cautiously.

"She tried," Carlisle answers, pulling another piece of paper out. "See? She filed a request to keep you two together. But she was only sixteen when your parents passed away. They said she was too young to care for you. They put her into the foster system for a while, until she turned eighteen. And by that time, your aunts had already taken you. There was nothing she could do."

Jasper sighs softly, considering the picture for a moment. "Sweetheart," I say softly, "We actually spoke with her. She was very happy to hear that you were okay. And she said she'd like to meet you, if that's something you want."

He hesitates, chewing on his bottom lip for a minute. "She can't…take me away, right?"

"No, buddy," Carlisle assures him. "You're still ours. You don't have to see her if you don't want to. But if you do want to, we'd be okay with it."

The boy considers it for a moment. "Would you come with me, if I did?"

"Of course we would. Do you think you want to?"

Slowly, he nods. "Yeah. I think I want to."

Carlisle smiles, hugging him gently. "Okay. No problem. We'll let her know. Go play."

Later, I'm sitting on the couch with a book when Jasper comes in. He climbs up beside me, his feet swinging for a moment before sliding closer. "Mama? Are you busy?"

I smile, holding out an arm and pulling him close. "Not at all. Something on your mind, baby?"

He shrugs. "I don't know. I just wanted to sit with you. Is that okay?"

"Of course, Jasper. You know I love to sit with you."

He smiles a little, curling up against my side and settling down. I know he must have something he wants to talk about, but sometimes Jasper just needs time to feel safe. Instead of asking again, I stroke his hair softly as I go back to my book, feeling him slowly relax against me. After a few minutes he looks up again. "Mama?"

"Hmm?"

"You know I love you, right?"

I smile, hugging him gently. "Of course I know that. And I love you too. Very, very much. Is everything alright sweetheart?"

Jasper considers it for a minute, shrugging. "I'm just thinking about things. Do you know anything else about Clara?"

"I know a little bit," I answer carefully. "Actually, you two have something in common. She was adopted too. That's why she was so young when she lived with you."

He thinks for a moment, nodding slowly. "Is she nice?"

"Well, I've only spoken to her once. But she seems very nice. She heard a little bit about what you went through in the news. She was very happy to know that you're safe now. And it certainly seems like she cares about you very much." I pause for a moment, looking at him. "Jasper? Why did you ask if I know you love me?"

The boy blushes, shrugging again. "I just…wanted to make sure. I didn't want you to be sad that I want to meet her."

He glances up at me, and I smile, kissing his cheek softly. "Oh honey, I would never be sad about that. I told you before that it's perfectly okay to want to know about where you come from. Actually, I'm happy we found her."

"You are?" he asks cautiously.

"Yes, I am. I think it would be good for you to have a connection to your past. It's still an important part of your life. I just hope that she'll be able to do that for you, and you'll be happy. That's all I ever want."

He nods. "I am happy. I'd just…like to know, I guess."

"And that's perfectly normal," I assure him. "And none of us are upset about it. I promise, okay? Don't worry."

Slowly, a small smile sneaks across his face. "Okay. Thanks."

He sighs, snuggling up closer to me. "Was there something else you wanted to talk about honey?"

Jasper shakes his head, grinning. "No. I just want to sit with you."

"Good," I smile back. "I want to sit with you too."

Jasper fidgets nervously on the couch in Carlisle's office as we wait. He glances up at me, and I sit down beside him, hugging him close. "Jasper, it's going to be fine," I assure him. "She's going to love you, and daddy and I will be here with you the whole time, I promise. Take a deep breath."

He nods, relaxing only slightly, but it doesn't stop him from flinching when he hears the front door open downstairs. He takes my hand as we listen to the steps getting closer until finally the door opens. Carlisle walks in, followed by a young, dark-haired woman. She takes a couple of steps closer, then crouches down to his eye level. "Hi Jasper," she says softly. "I haven't seen you in so long…look at how grown up you are…"

She sniffles a little, and Jasper frowns. "Why are you sad?" he asks softly.

"I'm not sad, honey," she answers. "Not at all."

"Then why are you crying?"

She laughs softly. "Because I'm really happy. I thought I'd never see you again." Jasper hesitates for a moment, then slips off the couch and crosses the distance between them to hug her tightly. She smiles, hugging him back. "Thanks buddy. It's good to see you."

He cracks a small smile, taking her hand and pulling her over to the couch. "It's good to see you too."

She nods, sitting down beside him. "Jasper, I'm so sorry about everything you went through. I would have done anything to keep you from going to those people. I would never have let them take you if I'd had a choice."

"I know," he replies. "Daddy told me you tried to keep me. But it's okay. I'm safe now. And I have a family that loves me."

She smiles a little. "I'm glad you do. You deserve it. And I would never try to take that away from you. You're a very strong little boy, Jasper. I know your parents would have been so proud of you."

Jasper nods, hesitating for a moment. "Can you tell me about them?"

"I would love to."

For the next little while they talk quietly, and Jasper gets to ask all of his questions. When he runs out of things to ask about, he looks at her for a moment. "Hey Clara? Do you think maybe you could…come back again one day?"

She smiles and nods. "Of course. I would love to see you more often, as long as it's okay with your parents."

Jasper glances over at me hopefully, and I chuckle, brushing his hair back. "Of course it's okay with us. We'd love to have you be a part of Jasper's life."

Jasper grins, hugging her again, and she laughs. "Okay then. I'd like that too. Your parents have my phone number, so any time you want to talk or see me you just give me a call, okay? Maybe one day you can come visit me and I'll take you around Seattle."

"Okay," he agrees happily. "Thank you for coming to see me."

Clara smiles, ruffling his hair lightly. "Any time buddy. I'll see you soon."

Carlisle walks her out to the door, and Jasper turns to me, hugging me tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

I chuckle, hugging him back. "Of course, sweetheart. We just want you to be happy. Was it what you hoped it would be?"

He nods, climbing into my lap. "Yes. It was nice, to hear about them from someone who knew them. Thanks for letting me see her." Carlisle returns, sitting down beside us, and Jasper hugs him too. "I love you."

"We love you too," he answers. "We always will."

Yay! As always, please remember to review! And if you have anything you'd like to see as I wrap this up, let me know!

Love,

TheSongSmith