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Jasper sits in the middle of the rarely used bed in Phoebe's room, reading the first book in a series she had been raving about earlier in the week. Phoebe sits with her back resting against his chest, her legs sprawled out alongside his. Though her bedroom door is shut, she listens to the conversations occuring downstairs, her gaze occasionally flickering to the pages in front of her to see where Jasper is at in the story.
Though the holiday is still a month away, it's already been decided that a Christmas party will be hosted in the Denali household. Instead of the Cullens journeying to Forks, Bella's father and a few members of the Quileute pack will come to Alaska on Christmas Eve. So far, Jacob is the only confirmed werewolf spending the holiday with them, but with the way Alice's visions are becoming harder and harder to see, she suspects more will join.
Bella and Renesmee are thrilled Charlie Swan has agreed to travel so far to be with them and his in-laws. Edward, while never voicing his concerns, is clearly anxious about being around the human that all but detests him despite the fact that Charlie can't physically harm him. Phoebe, on the other hand, can't wait to meet him.
Working in hospitals, Phoebe meets parents all the time, but they never seem to be too fond of her. While children accept her jokes and stickers with open arms as she helps to patch them up, the adults are harder to sway as they have an easier time of picking up on the fact that something isn't entirely right with the nurse. This often results in her shifts being switched from the pediatric floor to the emergency room, where parents still don't trust her but are in far too much of a worry to act on it.
"What are you thinking about?" Jasper questions, setting his book aside as he notices the melancholy shift in her mood. His arms - like always, hidden by the long sleeves of his thin sweater - wrap around her waist in an attempt to offer comfort.
"I never met your parents," she answers honestly, glancing back as he raises an eyebrow amusedly. "Do you think they would have liked me?"
There's a lull in their conversation as Jasper considers the question. Considering the drastic situation in which the couple had met years ago, he had never thought that far ahead into their relationship. Phoebe mistakes his hesitation as a bad sign and a pout forms on her lips.
"They would have loved you the second they laid eyes on you," he reassures her, meaning every word. "Like everyone who meets you does."
"I don't think Edward likes me very much," she counters, her playful smile returning.
"Of course he does," Jasper says, the humor in his voice evident. "You two just don't know how to communicate through anything but sarcasm and fights."
"Nuh-uh," Phoebe protests, sticking her tongue out childishly and only proving his point further.
"What about me?" He asks, diverting her attention back to the original topic. "What would your parents think of me?"
Phoebe pauses to tap her chin thoughtfully and she's shocked by how hard she finds it to recall her family. It's been years since she's thought of any family outside of the one she currently lives with, causing any memories from her past life to be harder to recall than usual.
"I don't think my father would have been too happy with me dating someone younger," she eventually teases, brushing her worries away for the time being.
"It's only by six months," Jasper argues indignantly.
"You should've thought about that before you went after an older woman," she retorts, instantly regretting it as he tickles her sides in retaliation.
Phoebe swats Jasper's hands away in between her fits of giggles and wriggles out of his grasp, shrieking as he attempts to pull her back. Whirling around, she latches onto his arms and knocks him on his back, both of them landing amidst the fluffy duvet and pillows.
"Alright, you win," he concedes, smiling sincerely up at her since he can't hold his hands up in mock surrender. Phoebe releases her grip on his arms warily and, as if to prove his point, Jasper intertwines their hands as she rests her head on his chest. "What about your mother? Would she also be against me and our scandalous age difference?"
"Her and my brother would be far easier to convince," she admits. "Once they saw how happy you make me, they'd convince my father to support our relationship too."
"I wish I could have met them."
Phoebe smiles as he presses a kiss against the hand that still wears his ring, but her attention is easily diverted as his sleeve raises ever so slightly to reveal the beginning of a pale scar. It looks nothing like her scar from the werewolf scratch, and Jasper suppresses a groan as curiosity overcomes her.
"It's nothing," he lies before her question has a chance to form, hastily pulling his arm away.
The playful atmosphere grows tense as Jasper waits with baited breath for her to push for answers anyway. He knows he wouldn't be able to lie to her, but nevertheless, he's not quite ready to share that side of his past with her just yet. A wave of relief washes over him as she nods understandingly, not pushing the sensitive subject any further.
"It's alright," Phoebe reassures him, smiling as the worry in his eyes disappears. "I know you'll tell me when you're ready."
There's a knock on the door and Emmett doesn't wait for an answer as he timidly pokes his head into the room.
"What happened?" Phoebe asks, not needing Jasper to tell her the large vampire is uneasy about what their reactions may be to the news he's about to share. The anxiety is written all over his face.
"That's depends," Emmett mutters, scuffing his shoes along the hardwood floor like a child waiting to be scolded. "Are you in the right headspace to receive information that could possibly hurt you?"
