Drowning

18

Hypothetical

Jasper carried out Bella's bag for me, loading it into the car as I approached Bella.

"Everything's packed and ready to go." I informed.

"Cool." Bella nodded. I smiled and stepped away from her, heading over to Jasper. He wrapped an arm around my waist and I rested my head on his shoulder with a sigh. I smiled and waved as Bella and Edward drove off toward the airport, and then immediately retreated inside the house.

"Jo, she's not gone yet." Jasper reassured me, reaching for my hand.

"I just-" I sighed. "I didn't realize that having her around would make me crave a family of my own."

"Oh, Josephine." Jasper sighed, wrapping his arms around me. "I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about." I shook my head. "I'm just being silly."

"There's nothing wrong with wanting a family of your own, Jo." Jasper reassured. "I'll give you a family of your own, Josephine Whitlock."

"How?" I asked, my ears perking up as Seth and Bree joined us in the living room.

"I'll worry about that, you worry about that." Jasper whispered, pointing to Bree and Seth.

"Okay." I nodded, peeling myself away from Jasper. I turned toward Seth with a smile. "What did you tell her?"

"Everything." Seth nodded with a lopsided grin. "I can't believe I imprinted on your daughter."

"Funny how the world works, huh?" I laughed, drawing Seth into a hug. "Take good care of her, yeah?"

"Of course." Seth nodded.

"But later, way later.' Bree spoke up. "I'm not leaving you just yet."

"What's stopping you?" I asked, furrowing my brow. Bree walked forward and wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on my collarbone.

"You're my... mom, and I don't want to leave you yet." She said, tightening her grip on me as she stumbled over the word 'mom'.

"There's no rush, sweetheart." I cooed, feeling my heart swell with happiness and love. Jasper beamed at me, my mood obviously affecting him.

====

"Jasper?" I hummed, resting my head on his shoulder.

"Yes, darling?" Jasper asked, running a hand through my hair.

"Do you think Bree has any abilities?" I questioned, wrapping my arms around Jasper.

"I think it's still too early to tell." Jasper answered, wrapping his arms around me. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious, is all." I spoke, letting my eyes slide shut. "I miss sleep, Jas."

"I know, my love." Jasper chuckled lowly.

"Can I ask you a completely random question?" I asked.

"Anything." Jasper nodded.

"What do you think life would be like if we'd never crossed paths?' I turned my face up so I could see his face and read his expression. As usual, he was hard to read, but he hasn't blocked his emotions from radiating to me. He felt afraid, and he was confused.

"I think that I would've been a monster." He muttered, holding onto me tighter. "I think that if you hadn't saved me, I would've ended up with the Volturi and they would've used me to destroy families like Maria did."

"I'm sorry, Jas." I whispered, kissing his jaw lightly. "I didn't mean to make you upset."

"You didn't make me upset, darling." Jasper reassured, his mood changing to something warmer; love. "Thinking about that reminds me that you found me in time, and you made me a better man."

"I love you, Jasper Whitlock." I whispered.

"Your turn." Jasper whispered back. "What do you think life would be like if we'd never crossed paths?"

"Hmm..." I hummed, trying to find a suitable answer. "I don't know if you were my link to finding the Cullens or not, so I'm not sure where I'd be. I think maybe I would've never found out about my other ability, and I would've done what Carlisle's done; I would form a family of my own with those who needed saving. At least, that's what I hope."

"I think that's fair." Jasper nodded.

"But I would never change anything about my life." I stated.

"Not even your death?" Jasper asked, tensing beneath me.

"No." I shook my head. "Dying that day led me to you, Jasper. And I really wouldn't change anything if it meant having to lose you. I would choose vampirism over my human life any day."

"You're something else, Josephine." Jasper smiled brilliantly. "And I love you for it."

"Can we-" I was cut off from my sentence by a vision of Bella standing in front of a mirror, caressing her stomach. I furrowed my brow, but focused on the sounds in the room. Without a doubt, I heard two heartbeats coming from Bella. Before I could process what was happening, I was thrown from the vision and fell out of Jasper's arms.

"Jo?" Jasper asked, sounding frantic. "Josephine, what happened? What'd you see?"

"I-" I started, hearing Rosalie's phone ring downstairs. "I'm not sure."

"Are you alright?" Bree's voice sounded as she entered the room.

"Yes," I nodded shakily, getting to my feet.

"Rose got a call from Bella." Bree informed. "There's a problem."