Here is another little one shot that popped into my head a while back. I've been busy working over at so I haven't had time to write it. But I finally got it all down last night and I'm happy with it. Enjoy.


Birds were singing, insects flew around in the golden hued foliage, and the flowers out side were in full bloom; and Forks was as green as ever

Birds were singing, insects flew around in the golden hued foliage, and the flowers out side were in full bloom; and Forks was as green as ever. Spring had officially started two weeks ago and everyone was celebrating. Even the sky seemed happy and allowed the bright sunlight to shine down on the little town. Yes, today was an especially good day.

A light sigh passed between Jasper's lips as he lounged on the couch. Today was particularly good for him because he was completely home alone. Rosalie and Alice had taken Bella and Nessie shopping, dragging Edward and Emmett with them to act as pack mules. Normally a sunny day like this would have kept his family out of the city but Alice had predicted a storm in Seattle so they would be safe.

Carlisle was working his shift at the hospital and wouldn't be home until later that night and Esme, well honestly he didn't know where his mother was. It was possible that she was in the house somewhere but she was always so calm that Jasper could hardly feel her.

In fact he couldn't feel anyone. It was so nice to be able to relax and not worry about trying to keep the house calm. With Nessie around there was never a dull moment. It wasn't that things were bad but just very energetic. In the five months since the Volturi had intruded on their lives Nessie had slowly grown into a little girl who looked to be between the ages of 3 and 4. That was about what she acted like too. Of course she was sweet and well mannered but she also was extremely hyper and it wasn't uncommon for Jasper to have to calm the little girl down before she destroyed another room.

The pure silence of the house was bliss. If he had been able to fall asleep he would have. Everything was just so peaceful, so quiet; surely he had died and gone to heaven.

But then the sound of Rosalie's BMW reached his ears. He couldn't help but growl and drag his hand down his face. Why were they back so early? He didn't expect that they'd be back until nearly sunset. His golden eyes opened and he was surprised to see that it was sunset. Wow, so that saying about time flying could relate to vampires. Too bad he wasn't able to enjoy it longer.

The chatter of his family and the shuffling of shopping bags reached his ears as he felt the familiar swarm of emotions. As he expected everyone was happy and glad to be home, especially one person in particular. The little body of energy was excited, anticipating something, probably ready to play with a new toy or try on new clothes that her aunts had bought to dress her up in.

"Nessie don't run!" Bella was calling from the garage. The quick footfalls of little feet weren't hard to hear, she really was running.

The little girl didn't listen to her mother and a minute later the front door opened and Nessie came bounding in, her curls of bronze hair bouncing behind her. She stopped for a split second and looked around and as soon as her eyes fell on Jasper she came running toward him.

"Uncle Jasper!" she squealed in delight as she jumped up into his lap.

Jasper smiled, he couldn't help it. He loved his niece more than words could express, even if she was a headache. "Welcome back Nessie. Did you have a fun shopping?"

The question had barely left his mouth when her little palm rested against his cheek. She showed him all the shops they'd gone into her and all the dresses and cute clothes she'd tried on. There was a particularly amusing scene of Emmett with bags hanging off his arms and a pile of other boxes almost to his head. He saw all the people she'd seen and smelled all the food in the food court and the delicious pretzel that Bella had bought Nessie for a snack, and all the talk and jokes on the ride home. Obviously fun was an understatement.

There was one scene though that she really wanted to show him; a small package that she was definitely excited about and was eager to show him.

"You bought me something?" Jasper asked in surprise. "You didn't have to do that Nessie."

"Oh yes she did." Emmett laughed as he carried in the load of packages that Nessie had shown in her memories. "We all agree that this is definitely you."

Edward followed Emmett in with even more bags, looking only mildly exasperated. Jasper knew he was probably thinking that no three year old needed this many sets of clothes.

Nessie's was beaming as she handed him the small little bag. She was so eager for him to see it that he thought she might explode. Jasper took the bad and un-wrapped the top and dumped a small bundle of tissue paper into his hand. It took him only a second to rip open the paper and dump out the object that it contained.

Lying innocently in his hand was a simple ring, just a band, like his wedding ring, but it was a strange green color.

"It's a mood ring!" Nessie chimed in before he could even ask. "Put it on!"

Jasper quickly slipped on the ring and watched as the colors began to change from green to purple to a dark blue. What exactly was this thing?

This time it was Bella who answered him. "I'm sorry Jasper, she saw it when we were checking out in the toy store. After I explained what it was she just had to get you one. The colors are supposed to change depending on your mood. There should be a guide to what the colors are supposed to mean in the bag." The look on her face was apologetic.

Emmett's booming laughter filled the living room. Now Jasper understood and he rolled his eyes.

Nessie grabbed the hand with the ring on it and watched it. "Change it." She said, Emmett snorted again.

Jasper grabbed the little paper with the eight colors listed and then looked back at the girl still holding his hand, waiting. "What color do you want it to be?"

"Purple!" she answered.

Clarity, sensuality. Wonderful. He watched the ring too, wondering if he really could change the colors of the silly thing. After a second the green began to change until it was a dark purple. Nessie giggled with delight.

"Blue!"

Calm, relaxed, loveable. Jasper thought back to an hour ago, he had been relaxed then. The ring turned blue in seconds.

"Black!"

Nervous, anxiety. The same feelings he'd had when Alice had seen her vision last December; how afraid he was of looking his family. The ring turned coal black, like the eyes of a hungry vampire.

"Hey Jazz, turn it magenta!" Emmett said, a wide grin cut across his face. He was having as much fun as Nessie was.

Magenta wasn't a color that the ring was supposed to be able to turn, but Nessie's eyes were wide with wonder and curiosity. Now he had to at least try.

Magenta was a deep pink mixed with purple. So he was going to have to be excited, uncertain, and sensual all at the same time. This was not going to work, but the big brown eyes looking up at him made have to try.

It was hard to feel so many contradicting feelings at once, but he noticed the ring fight between a deep pink and purple. Slowly the color turned into a deep, vibrant pink that wasn't quite magenta, but it was as close as he could get. Nessie was pleased and laughed happily. Emmett wasn't smiling anymore. Jasper had won this round and no doubt Emmett would find a way to bring it up again tomorrow went they went hunting.

"Alright Nessie, that's enough of torturing Uncle Jasper for one day. Come eat your dinner." Edward called. His habit of watching cooking shows had come in handy now that Nessie had taken to an almost solid diet.

"Ok Daddy." She called, jumping out of Jasper's lap and running into the kitchen.

Jasper visibly relaxed and fell back against the couch. A minute later Alice lighted softly beside him, tucking herself up against his side and picking up his hand, examining the mood ring silently.

"I would ask you if you had a good day but I already know the answer." Jasper said softly.

"Its always fun shopping with Nessie; she already knows what looks good and what doesn't, she's a dream. Her mother on the hand is a different story."

Jasper laughed and the couple grew quiet. Jasper closed his eyes and allowed his wife to continue examining the mood ring that was still on his finger.

"So, what does bright blue mean?" Alice finally asked.

Jasper looked at the sheet again and smiled. "Calm. Relaxed. Loveable."

Alice smiled up at him and placed a light kiss on his cheek. "That sounds like my Jazz."


Jasper & Nessie (c) Stephenie Meyer
And thanks to everyone who reviewed on Lullaby for a stormy night and added me to their watch list!