THIS SUMMARY INCLUDES MAJOR DETAILS ABOUT THE UNIVERSE I WILL BE USING FOR THIS STORY, WHICH IS A LOT DIFFERENT FROM CANON, PLEASE READ:

The Cullens are old-school vampires in this story. They still drink animal blood and I've kept their tawny eyes. But they have fangs, burn in direct sunlight, sleep in king size coffins, and unpack their native dirt whenever they move. This takes place after Breaking Dawn left off and everything from the books that is not affected by these changes, is the same.

They still attended Forks High School on the cloudier days, they just had to be a bit more... careful. Edward didn't step into the sunlight to show Bella what he was, he showed her his fangs instead. The wolves were still their enemies early on but eventually came around. Everything about the wolves is the same. The Volturi and politics remain the same.

The vampire powers all remain the same with one exception. All vampires can speak telepathically to one another. Edward only has an enhanced version of that ability because he can hear their thoughts even when they aren't projecting them.

The venom works the same way, with most things. With the exception of human foods, which they can eat and drink without having to regurgitate. Their venom just dissolves it into nothing eventually, but they don't enjoy the taste of it. They can get drunk though if they drink the blood of a drunk human or animal. Emmett has occasionally been known to get bears drunk, just to experience this phenomenon. ;-D

Vampires of both genders can procreate in this world, it's just extremely difficult. As the odds of finding plants growing on Mars would be difficult. So all born vampires are seen as miracle babies. The fact that Bella was human when they had Renesmee, just stacked the odds more in their favor. But the reason her pregnancy was so difficult, was just because they didn't get her started on a blood diet soon enough.

Garlic does hurt them in this world, it works like a human allergy but is not life-threatening. Religious symbols don't harm the Cullens or any other animal drinkers but they do burn the human drinkers, these include crosses and holy water.

Most importantly, there are also the traditional methods of killing a vampire. Fire, exposure to direct sunlight, stake to the heart (but it has to be made of natural wood, from a species of tree found native to their homeland). So James & Victoria and the newborns were slightly easier to exterminate, though still a problem.

For any more questions about this universe, please message me or review! Most other things you can figure out as we go along but I wanted to lay out the important differences straight away.

The Drifter

Chapter One: Prologue - The Ebb and Flow of Misery

When we begin, the Cullens have recently experienced the one great loss they thought they'd never have to. Alice has been killed. Everyone is devastated. The Cullen home has lost its joy.

Renesmee has recently moved to the Rez to be with Jacob (she looks around fourteen now.) Between her planned departure and Alice's unexpected one, nothing is as it was. Edward and Bella have moved back into the main house to live closer to the rest of the family.

Charlie still visits, though seldom. His home is primarily with the Clearwaters now that Renesmee is grown. Seth and Leah now have children of their own, so he and Sue spend most of their time with their grandkids.

In the face of so much pain, can the Cullen family's wounds ever begin to heal again? Can they ever be whole again? Only time will tell. Let's check in on Jasper, shall we?

Jasper was dead inside. He had lost his one sweet reason for existence. The family feared, at first, that Jasper would simply become The Major again. Slaughter humans and start fights, return to a life of brutality and violence, but he hadn't the strength for that. Whatever else The Major was, he was strong. If Jasper had become The Major, he could have overcome this, would have overcome this.

But the empty, hopeless, mess that he had become, wasn't overcoming anything. He was merely wallowing in it. Jacob had said that Jasper reminded him of what Bella was like after Edward had left her for those few months while she was still human. But Jasper now was even worse. Way worse, which Jacob wouldn't have believed was even possible if he hadn't seen Jasper with his own two eyes.

The first night after Alice's death was terrible, of course. Jasper had stood at attention out in the clearing all night, hoping to burn with the morning sunrise. But there was no sun that day. And when Esme found out what he had done, she put him on house restriction. He was only allowed to leave when he needed to hunt and only with the rest of the family there with him.

The second night, Esme had walked him to his coffin, but he wouldn't get in it. When she reminded him that he needed to sleep, he said that it was too empty inside, just like he was. So, with the compassion and understanding of only a mother, Esme had invited Jasper to join her and Carlisle in their coffin.

It was a plenty big enough coffin for three. All of the Cullens had the latest, most high-end models available of course, with all the bells and whistles. Emmett and Rose's coffin, (with Em being so big) was large enough that he sometimes joked that they had room for an orgy in theirs.

Thanks to Esme, Jasper had slept soundly, nestled in the comforting arms of his parents. It was highly unorthodox, but he couldn't and wouldn't sleep alone. And if he didn't sleep at all, he wouldn't have had the strength to control his bloodlust around the humans. So it was imperative that he be at least somewhat rested.

Esme was happy to be able to provide some small measure of comfort to her son in his broken state. At least now he was sleeping. But they found, over the next several days, that they could not, for anything, get Jasper to hunt. He simply wouldn't budge. They even tried bringing animal blood to him but he would not drink that either. It was becoming a serious issue because he hadn't hunted since a week or two before Alice's death.

Everyone thought that surely Jasper would starve himself and they were all worried and desperate for a solution. On day five of his refusal, Renesmee and Jacob, who knew the situation, showed up at the Cullen house. Renesmee approached Carlisle and asked for permission to offer Jasper her blood.

"I know how strongly you all believe in the animal diet, but unlike if I were a human, I cannot die or be turned by the act of him feeding on me. I know this because I phoned Nahuel already and asked if he knew if it were possible. He told me his father had a habit of drinking the blood of his sisters and that the act itself had never physically harmed them. Though in their case he was doing so against their will, which is so not cool." She said.

After hearing that it would be safe for her to do so, a family meeting was held, a vote was taken and Renesmee was permitted to offer her blood to Jasper. In his weakened state from hunger, he was hardly strong enough to resist any human blood by that time, and when Renesmee told him it would not harm her, his monster roared with joy. He had grasped her firmly by the neck, right then and sipped greedily on her sweet nectar. It was euphoric! Better than any human blood ever had been.

It seemed that Renesmee had inherited Bella's sweet, irresistible blood, though hers was imbued with its own sort of magic and Jasper thrived on it. He held her closely, softly, caressing her hair while he fed on her. And as a thank you for her generosity, he used his emotional gift to make the experience as enjoyable for her as possible.

An added bonus, Renesmee's blood, not being entirely human, never even made Jasper's eyes turn red. So all things considered, it was determined that he could continue to feed on her until such time as he felt strong enough to hunt for himself again. She had regenerative healing, just the same as the full vampires did, so Jasper could feed on her regularly without causing her any problems or weakening her in any way.

As time went by and weeks turned to months, they learned that the difficulty Jasper had with hunting was purely psychological. He could not bring himself to hunt because he could not do so without thinking of Alice. It was the same reason he could not bring himself to sleep alone in their coffin. It simply hurt too much.

After a time, Edward, by reading their thoughts, had realized that sharing their coffin with Jasper, was putting a strain on Carlisle and Esme. They would never say anything to Jasper, of course, but they were missing the treasured opportunity to be alone together at night and it was somewhat stressful for them as a couple.

So Edward shared this fact with Bella, and she suggested they invite him to spend his nights with them for a while. Edward agreed and they carefully spun the idea to Jasper in such a way that made it a win-win for all of them, since they'd never want him to feel like a burden on anyone.

Jasper agreed and so, several months after the tragedy, he began spending the night in their coffin instead. It was immediately a much different experience than it had been with Carlisle and Esme. With Jasper's ability to read emotions and Edward's ability to read minds, the close proximity and intimacy of the act of sharing a bed produced some very interesting results.

Edward quickly realized that Jasper found Bella attractive, though Jasper was careful to keep his thoughts of her pure. And Jasper could feel both Bella's contentment at having him there, as well as Edward's mild jealousy, so he was extremely careful not to overstep.

He must have had a fitful sleep though, because when they'd gone to bed, Bella had been in the middle, but by the morning, it was Jasper who held the middle position. And Edward was quite surprised to wake up to the feeling of Jasper pressed against him… all of Jasper pressed against him, including, his morning wood.

But the most surprising part of the experience for Edward in waking up that way was discovering that the feel of Jasper's arousal, succeeded in stirring his own. Mind you, in all of Edward's many years on the planet, he'd never even so much as entertained the idea of fantasizing about another man before. But here he found himself fighting the urge to press himself back and grind against Jasper's raging erection.

He knew, however, that Jasper wasn't hard for him. It was a situation that sometimes involuntarily arose (pardon the pun) upon waking, a common occurrence for both humans and vampires. So Edward knew how entirely inappropriate it would be to act on his desires. His brother was grieving and was staying with them as a source of comfort. Edward could simply wait and relieve his urges in private or with Bella later on. Jasper need never be the wiser.

The following night as they went to bed, jealousy was the furthest thing from Edward's mind, yet he tried to focus on his jealousy from the previous night because it would seem like a valid reason for putting himself in-between Jasper and Bella. However, Edward's real reason for doing so was that he hoped to feel Jasper's need pressed against him again in the morning.

It worked out even better than Edward could have dreamed it would! Instead of waking up to Jasper's unconscious body and his involuntary response, he woke to the feel of Jasper's hand, gently and intentionally caressing Edward's own arousal through the fabric of his pajama pants.

When he realized what was happening, he was overcome with lust and longing. Jasper must have felt Edward's emotions because he intensified his stroking to a firmer, more deliberate pace. Edward needed to ask him, "How did you know?" He whispered.

"What, that you wanted this? I woke up yesterday morning to your lusty emotions and at first, I assumed they were for Bella. But there was also shock and self-consciousness there too which didn't make any sense. Then last night when you went through the deliberate motion of claiming the middle place and trying to seem jealous? I had my suspicions. The clincher though was when I awoke half an hour ago and heard you moaning my name in your sleep. It was very sexy by the way." Jasper grinned, continuing to stroke him.

"Thank you, Jasper. I had briefly considered approaching you about this, but I felt it would be inappropriate. Especially considering that you came here to be comforted, not accosted." Edward laughed nervously, but his laugh turned to a moan as Jasper removed the fabric that was covering Edward's erection and resumed stroking on his bare flesh. "Ugh, you have no idea how good that feels!" He gasped.

"I'm glad to be of service. It's about time you had an awakening of sorts, Edward. You've always been far too uptight for your own good. Though I do appreciate you considering my feelings. And I admit, after everything that has happened, it'll be a long time, if ever, before I can handle being with a woman in the physical sense. But this feels different enough, that it's okay. And obviously, even the wreck that I am, I still have needs." Jasper said.

And that was when Edward realized how selfish he was being! Here was Jasper, going out of his way to pleasure Edward and yet Edward had not yet made any move to reciprocate the gesture. Well, I suppose I ought to remedy that! He thought and tentatively he reached down to find Jasper's own length straining against his boxers, which were all that Jasper ever wore to bed.

Jasper exhaled as Edward began to touch him. First Edward was simply reciprocating Jasper's touch and then the dam broke and Edward's intense desire caused him to do more. He continued stroking Jasper, after pulling his length from the confines of his boxers, but he also wrapped his free hand around Jasper's waist, pulling him into a tight embrace and crashing his eager lips desperately against Jasper's waiting mouth. It wasn't long before he was granted entrance and the heated battle for dominance began.

Jasper, who loved any kind of battle, quickly won control of the kiss and upped the intensity of the whole experience by projecting Edward's love and lust back at him, intermingled with his own. It didn't take much of this heated tangle before the sensations overwhelmed them both and sent them careening over the edge together.

Panting as they came down from their high, Jasper looked into Edward's eyes and thanked him. "That, dear brother, was the best kind of therapy you could have given me." He whispered. Though little did they realize, in the midst of their passion, they need not have whispered at all, since Bella had woken up long ago and witnessed the whole experience!

"Man, you boys sure put on one hell of a show!" She laughed. "I think I need to go hunt now. If you're not still busy, you're welcome to join me," she said, to no one in particular, though Jasper likely wouldn't hunt, since he was still living solely off of Renesmee's blood.

Edward laughed self-consciously, embarrassed at Bella catching them, but he responded quickly. "Alright, Love, I'll go grab a quick shower and then join you. Nessie should be here soon with Jasper's breakfast anyway," he said, making the joke about Jasper's breakfast to keep the mood light. If Bella was upset, she sure didn't look it. Though he knew they'd need to talk about all of this and hunting would provide a good opportunity for that.

"Yeah he's right, she will be. Which means I should probably get ready myself now anyway. You want the upstairs shower or downstairs, Edward?" Jasper asked.

"Oh, for Pete's sake you two! Just shower together! You don't have to act like it never happened, just because you got your hands caught in each other's cookie jars. If I was going to react in anger over it, I already would have. It was fucking sexy, so you're not in the dog house, Edward. But go have your shower now and then come hunting. I need to hunt soon and I'd rather not have to go alone." Bella told them, pushing open the lid of the coffin and stepping out, heading to their walk-in closet to get changed.

Thankfully, she'd had a bath the night before, or else Edward may have had to choose between showering with Jasper or with Bella, but since she wasn't showering, the decision was made easy for him. "Okay, okay, thank you, Love!" Edward answered, in a hands-up, surrendering gesture.

After Bella was gone, Edward took Jasper by the hand and pulled him into the upstairs bathroom with him. Needless to say, they had a very sensual time cleansing one another's bodies, though they didn't dare do anything further for the time being, lest they keep Bella waiting and give her cause to retract her previous consent!

AN: Okay, so what do we think? Sexy? Let me know! I love to hear your feedback!