Bree's POV

I was standing as far from Bella as possible while still standing in the same room. I wasn't breathing. The heat radiating from her body was bearable, as long as I wasn't breathing her scent, or the scent of the blood that she was drinking.

For some reason that I don't quite understand, Bella enjoys my company. I enjoy hers, too, even though I can't talk much.

"Rose?" Bella said, making a face.

"Again?" Rose asked with a smile, moving toward her.

"I think I've drunk about two gallons in the last hour." Bella explained to the mutt.

Edward and Jacob moved out of the way as Rose moved to lift Bella.

"Can I walk? My legs are so stiff." Bella said.

"Are you sure?" Edward asked.

"Rose will catch me if I trip over my own feet. Which could happen pretty easily since I can't see them."

Rose lifted Bella gently and set her on her feet. Bella stretched her arms.

"That feels good." She said, starting towards the bathroom.

I wasn't paying close attention, so I didn't see Bella's cup of blood spill. I just looked up when I heard the ripping sound from the center of her body. I saw the red blood on one end of the couch. My surprised intake of breath happened at the exact same time that Bella threw up a fountain of blood. The fire ripped through my throat. I clutched my neck and sank to the ground in the effort to not attack Bella. I could hear Edward and Rosalie shouting and running. I buried my face in the carpet. Once I had taken a breath, I couldn't stop breathing. A dry sob escaped my throat.

Weak! I screamed at myself. You're stronger than this!

I felt someone's arms around me. Taking another deep breath, I smelled Jasper's scent closer to me then he was before. He lifted my face out of the carpet, and turned me so I was facing him. I hung my head.

"It gets easier." He murmured.

"It hurts." I whimpered. "It burns..." I trailed off.

Jasper's arms wrapped around me, pulling me to his chest. I couldn't tell if he was comforting me or restraining me until he put his hand on the back of my head and stroked my hair.

"You're doing so well, Bree." He told me. "You're only a month and a half old, and you can already be in close proximity to humans. When I was newborn, if I was as close to a human as you were to Bella, even if I wasn't breathing, the heat coming off of them would create a pull so irresistible that there would be nothing I could do to stop myself."

Breathing in Jasper's scent was helping to clear my head; the burn wasn't as overpowering now.

"Jasper!"

Alice was at the top of the stairs, dragging Rosalie down by the throat. Jasper jumped to his feet and ran to the stairs. By then, Alice had pulled Rose to the bottom of the stairs. Jasper darted behind her and wrapped his arms around her chest, lifted her up, and in a moment, was standing beside me again.

Rosalie struggled for a moment, and in a split second, had her pinned on the floor. Her eye's were flat black.

"Rose!" Jasper hissed. "Think about what you're doing, Rose! Calm Down!"

Rosalie stopped struggling. We waited a few minutes, listening to the sounds of Edward and Jacob attempting to extract the baby from Bella. I didn't realize how loud Bella's heartbeat had become until it suddenly stopped. Alice let out a distressed, surprised whimper. Jasper rolled off of Rosalie and walked to Alice to comfort her. After a moment, Rosalie lurched to her feet and ran up the stairs.

"Rose--" Jasper started after her, but Alice caught his arm.

"It's okay," She breathed, eyes locked on the future.

Jasper nodded and wrapped his arms back around Alice. After a moment, Rosalie came back down the stairs carrying the baby and a metal cup full of blood. She sat on the clean end of the couch and started feeding it.

Jacob came slowly down the stairs a moment later, eye's on the ground. He reached the bottom of the stairs and just stood there for a moment before looking up. His eyes were locked on the child in Rosalie's arms. His mouth fell open. He stood there, mouth slack-jawed for a long moment before approaching Rose, who hissed softly at him. He ignored her, staring in amazement at the child.