Jasper crouched low, hunched over, pruning the tiny area. Her smile was watery and sad, yet she didn't care. She knew hat she should be happy. Should be thankful, but she wasn't. She was hurt and angry, and they seemed to have over-powered her happiness and thankfulness of the situation.
   She tried to tell herself that it wasn't her fault. But there was that small voice, screaming painfully, that it was.
   Slowly she walked away. Trying to leave everything behind. Trying to take it all with her.

   Taylor was pacing the room angrily. "Where the hell is she!" He shouted loudly.
   Before a response was given he threw all the articles, that were on the Detectives desk, smashing onto the ground. Anger fevered his face, making him flush bright red. Angry red. Hurt haunting his eyes, shadowing the ice blue to an icy coldness.
   "We're doing all that we can, sir." The Detective stated in a voice of strained control.
   Taylor glared at him. His name was Detective Tompkins, with the Tulsa Police Department. He came highly recommended. But all Detective Tompkins seemed to find out was that Jasper and Jackie had left Tulsa.
   Still seething with uncontrolled anger and hostility Taylor stalked out of the office. The deep unbearable pain of not knowing was killing him. And it wasn't a gentle death either.
   "Tay, he's doing all that he can." Isaac said gently, trying to calm him down.
   The glare that Taylor had been seeing through was now focused upon his brother. "Ike, I'm sure that if I wanted your opinion I would have asked for it." He stated slowly but sharply.
   Isaac nodded his head curtly. "Fine." He said shortly. "If that's the way you want it."
   "It is." Taylor replied coldly.
   "Fine."
   It was the last thing said between the two brothers.
   Zac watched quietly at his two older siblings. Watching as they both hurt from the same pain of the unknown. And the helplessness. He sighed softly and leaned back in his seat and rested his forehead against the cool window.
   He remembered when Isaac and Taylor had told him about Jasper and Jackie. And how they told him Jackie was Taylor's son. He had been amazed and angry at first. But time grew on and he gradually accepted the facts.
   Their mom and dad took it the hardest. Let down that Taylor had not waited until he was married to bed a woman. But generally they accepted it, and their grandchild, and hopefully their someday to be daughter in-law.
   Eagerly they helped Taylor start looking for his family. Yet they came up with empty hands and broken hopes and dreams.
   Taylor tiredly walked the house. His nerves were stretched tightly, and his anger just wouldn't stay controlled. He had a hard time not snapping at anyone. Yet everything seemed to get to him.
   "There's a phone call for you, Tay." Mackie said quietly from the doorway.
   Looking up Taylor noticed he was in the kitchen. Nodding his head shortly he caught the phone that was tossed to him. "Yeah, what d'ya want?" He asked irritable.
   The voice crackled over the phone. At first Taylor didn't grasp what was said to him. "Excuse me, but please repeat what you just said." He asked firmly, as his hand tightened on the phone.
   "Where?" He croaked out. "I'm on my way there now." He replied as he hung the phone up.
   "Mom! Dad!" He shouted excitedly.
   Instantly the room started to flood with people and Taylor laughed for the first time in weeks, tears of happiness filling his smiling eyes.
   "Road trip?" Isaac asked hopefully.
   He smiled brightly, "Yeah." He said quietly. Still unsure if he should allow his hopes to get so high. "Yeah."
   "Where?" Mrs. Hanson asked skeptically.
   "Texas." Taylor answered as he too went for his room. "Alpine, Texas."
   Isaac gave him a questioning look.
   "Cowboy country." Zac groaned before he and Isaac ran for their rooms to pack.

   Jasper circled around her sister's ranch house. It was quiet today. As it was everyday here in the suburbs of Alpine, Texas. It was always quiet. Too quiet sometimes.
   Sighing loudly, Jasper flung herself onto the porch swing. The uneasiness of the silence was eating at her savagely, clawing at her insides, sparing no trace of peace.
   She laid her head down on the armrest and almost jumped out of her skin when she heard the sounds of a car. She thought that it might've been her sister and her husband, but they had just left a few minutes ago. Could they have forgotten something?
   That wasn't likely. Her sister Becky never forgot anything. Everything was stored perfectly in her memory bank. Down to the very last of details.
   Curious as to whom the intruders were, she walked down the long driveway. Halfway down it, she started to recognize the car. And its passengers.
   Her blood started to flow like ice water in her veins, and her hands began to sweat from a greater uneasiness than what she had been feeling earlier.
   The car halted and three figures emerged from the car. One walked ahead of the other two. As if he was their leader.
   "Hey, Taylor." Jasper whispered. Her voice suddenly gone.
   Taylor stepped up to her and gave her a small gentle hug. "Hey, Jasper." He said softly.
   Jasper noticed at how Taylor kept looking around the ranch house. So were Isaac and Zac. As if waiting for something, or perhaps someone, to pop up.
   "So how'd you find me?" Jasper asked tensely as she set out a tray of drinks for them.
   Taylor shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the question and refused the drink. "So umm… where's Jackie?" He asked in return.
   Shifting uncomfortably, Jasper gave him a forced smile. "He's not here. Why do you ask?" She asked softly, curious to know as to why he even cared now.
   Giving her an irritated look, Taylor replied coldly; "Because he's my son. Why shouldn't I want to know where he is?"
   Anger flared in Jasper, "Maybe because you told your son to leave. Remember that, Taylor?" She asked harshly, her eyes clouding over with the pain of rejection.
   "I want to see my son." Taylor stated as he stared unblinkingly at the table in front of him.
   His fists clamped tightly, his knuckles bone-white.
   "Fine." Jasper said getting up. "I'll drive you. But it's a surprise." She answered him before looking at Isaac and Zac. "Come along too if you want."
   They both declined, and Isaac handed her his keys. Taylor was reluctant to wear the mask, but Jasper refused to take him unless he wore it. He gave in.
   "Where are we going?" Taylor asked after a few minutes of driving.
   Jasper sighed quietly, trying to keep her emotions under tight rein. "To a nice quiet and peaceful place. Jackie's there. And you'll see him. He hasn't changed much since you last seen him."
   She talked in false cheerfulness, but Taylor didn't catch on. He was too excited to see his son.
   When Jasper finally parked the car she told Taylor to get out, and lead his past the small church yard full of snow and children and their older siblings and parents played rambunctiously.
   Leading him past all that, she walked behind the church and into it's neighboring plot.    Taylor stretched his arms out, as if expecting maybe a hug from his boy. Then he knelt before the tiny gravestone of his child.
   "How did this happen?" His questioned immediately, his voice hard and cold.
   Jasper could only guess what his eyes looked like. "He was malnourished. We didn't have enough money for a lot of food. I got here too late for my sister to help us. He died a few weeks later."
   "How could you do this to my son?" Taylor shouted. His voice raw with anger and pain.
   "Your son?" Jasper gasped. "He was my son too, you know? But you didn't raise him!" She shouted back at him.
   "I didn't know I had one until a few months ago!" He defended himself.
   "Yeah, and when you did find out what did you do?" She asked him.
   He was forced into silence. Guilt plastered his face.
   "C'mon Taylor," She pushed. "What did you do?"
   Her whole body began to shake from the rage and pain. "You told him to get out. You turned him away, because he would have tripped you up. He would have messed up your plans with Hanson. And everything else you had going for your life." She accused him irrationally. Only going on the pain of losing a child.
   Taylor turned away from her. Stalking towards the car with Jasper following.
   Her arms were crossed across her stomach. Remembering the time when she had carried Jackie inside her. Happy to have known that she was going to have a part of Taylor with her for forever. Happy when Taylor said he would love her for forever.
   She had lived in a fantasy world then. She now knew that there was no such thing as forever. Nothing lasted for forever. Things changed and so did people. Lives ended everyday. Jackie's did.
   When they returned back to her sister's ranch house Taylor, Isaac, and Zac left shortly after. Leaving Jasper lonely to cry unabashedly as they left.
   "What in the hell happened, Tay?" Isaac asked gently as he steered the car away from the house and the crying lonely girl on the front steps.
   Taylor shook his head. "You don't want to know, Ike." He murmured. "Trust me, you just don't want to know."
   Zac saw the tear as it slipped from the corner of Taylor's right eye. Something wrong had happened, he knew it. Everybody did.
   And once they got home, the topic of Jasper and Jackie was no longer brought back up.
   The memories had died along with the young lonely boy, with only a lonely girl to remember them.