Disclaimer: I own a face-in-hole pic of Rob and I. I own my cougar fantasies of Rob. I do not own Twilight, its characters, or even a leaf from Forks. I do enjoy inviting said characters to my playroom.
In grown-up terms: No copyright infringement is intended and I'm not making a dime off this.
Chapter 2:
"Could you give us a few minutes, alone," Edward asked. "We'll be right behind you. We just need a minute to regroup."
Carmen nodded and motioned for Tanya and Eleazar to follow her inside. "Of course. It's a lot to take in. Do you need to hunt before you join us? We've got a great variety just beyond our property line."
Bella responded first. "No, we were able to catch a bear right before we arrived. One was more than enough for both of us." From the corner of her eye, Bella saw Edward smirk, before he chimed in. "Yes, it was fulfilling in ways I never thought possible. We are hoping to catch another one before we head back to Forks. Bella has developed a fondness for bearskin rugs, right, love?" Bella narrowed her eyes at Edward and in move befitting Rosalie, whacked Edward upside the head.
Hearing the innuendo in Edward's voice and watching Bella's physical response, Tanya went wide-eyed and struggled not to laugh out loud. Instead she directed a thought at Edward. "Oh, Edward, I never thought I'd see the day when you would sound more like Emmett than a monk. In many ways I'm sorry I didn't have you first, but Bella is truly meant for you." An acknowledging nod was the only response Edward made. Unlike Emmett, physical pain without the pleasure was not something he wanted often.
Eleazar encouraged Tanya and Carmen in the house. "Take some time to collect your thoughts, then. We'll be inside with Kate and Garrett…and Lydia, of course. With that, the Denali clan walked into the house and closed the door. Edward spoke first.
"Love, I hope I didn't embarrass you. This is going to get worse before it gets better, and I just needed to lighten the mood a bit."
Bella guffawed. "Really? Emoward wanted to lighten a tense situation by sharing our sex lives with the cousins. Has hell frozen over? Have the Cubs won the World Series?"
"Tread carefully Bella. I'm a Chicago boy born and raised. In some circles, Cubs jokes are fighting words. Luckily for you, I was a White Sox fan in my human life. As I've aged, I'm found that down deep, I'm a Cardinals fan. But, I digress. Are you ok with what we know so far?"
Bella wrapped her arms around Edwards waist and laid her head on his chest. Edward pulled her into his side with his arms around his shoulders. If they were human, Bella could imagine them on their porch swing in their twilight years doing this same thing. She allowed herself a moment to dream of what would have never been before answering.
"Yeah, I'm ok. It just makes me sad and angry…and excited and hopeful…and worried and-" Edward cut her off. "Bella are you really having all of those feelings right now? That seems a little beyond Vampire abilities to multi-task."
Bella chuckled. "I suppose it's more of a girl thing than a vampire thing. But, yes, I am definitely feeling all of those things right now. What I need to do is focus, though. There is a human woman in there carrying a half-vampire baby and I am the only living vampire or human who knows what she's going though." Bella started to unwrap herself from her husband to stand. "Edward, we really need to get in there and meet Lydia. Perhaps you will be able to hear the baby, like with Renesmee?"
"Hmmmm," Edward pondered. "I suppose I should be able to get something. Not words. I couldn't get words from Renesmee at this stage. But maybe flashes and feelings." Edward grabbed Bella's hand before she could pull away completely. "Bella, I do have a very serious concern. We are most likely going to have to deliver this baby, or the biggest part of it. I know your restraint is unprecedented, but you have yet to experience fresh human blood, not protected by skin and muscle. It tested Rosalie and Alice when you had Renesmee. We need a plan in place, just in case you lose control."
Bella was a little shocked, but not hurt by Edward's words. She knew he was right. "I wish Alice's visions weren't so holey. Times like these I realize how much we rely on her gift." Bella and Edward were silent for about five minutes before Bella came up with part of plan. "Edward, what if lift my shield. I can try and do it for awhile. That way you have access to all of my thoughts. If I start to become overwhelmed, you can get someone to take me out of the room? Or maybe if I lose control, my shield would drop and you would know that by the silence that it's time to take me out?"
Edward smiled warmly and pressed his lips to Bella's. "Excellent plan, love. Ok. Let's go meet Lydia and see what we're dealing with." Bella accepted his gentle kiss and smiled. "Yeah," she responded. "I can't wait to see my doppleganger."
Bella and Edward stood, and hand in hand they walked in the front door of the Denali family home, uncertain of what the rest of the day would bring.
Edward and Bella knocked lightly on the bedroom door where Carmen had directed them once they entered the house. The door opened swiftly and quietly, and Kate and Garrett stood smiling lightly at the couple. Garrett didn't hesitate to grab Bella in tight hug, while Kate gently kissed Edward's cheek.
"Ah, Bella, my yankee heroine, how wonderful to see you again….although the circumstances are muddier than a harbor full of tea bags." Garrett's dry sense humor made him a favorite to Bella, and she chuckled at his imagery. "Good to see you, too, Garrett…and you, also, Kate." Bella gracefully untangled herself from Garrett to wrap an arm around Kate's shoulders, giving a light squeeze. "We were hoping to meet Lydia and see if we could help."
"Of course," Kate replied. "She's been asleep most of the day. She's so exhausted and often in pain. I swear I can hear bones breaking, but I'm not sure."
Edward's thoughts had turned darker as he remembered the fetus inside Bella breaking her fragile ribs. He sighed. "There are probably broken ribs, Kate. Is her breathing labored?"
"Not as long as she's lying down," Kate answered. "She gets pretty winded when she's up and walking around."
Edward nodded. "A potentially good sign. If the broken ribs were higher or splintered, the risk of a punctured lung is greater, and then we'd have bigger problems than we already do. Now, what of her diet? Is she eating or drinking?"
Kate shrugged. "Not enough. She doesn't seem to be able to keep much down, and she was already so underfed when Demetri brought her here. I don't know if we could have done anything to help her catch up, so to speak. She drinks water and keeps it down ok, but juice or anything acidic seems to disagree with the baby."
Bella stepped up. "Kate, have you tried blood? I mean, I know you wouldn't be able to get a hold of human blood, which is what really helped me regain some strength, but maybe some blood from a carnivore would give us something to work with. Anything is worth trying at this point, right?"
Edward agreed. "Yes. Although if her delivery will be soon, we don't want to give her too much, lest it come right back when labor begins."
As one part of Bella's vampire brain heard Garrett make plans to get Eleazar to help him with the carnivore hunt, another part of Bella blanched at the recent human memory that was still available. Such a sharp pain in her abdomen, and then vomiting large quantities of blood all over the Cullen's white carpets. As the memory started to dissipate, Bella wondered how they had cleaned the carpet so thoroughly. She'd have to ask later.
Bella focused on the family in front of her, and noticed Garrett heading for the stairs. Edward continued to tell Kate what would be needed for the delivery when the time was right. He stressed that the family should all hunt to avoid any problems when they cut through the placenta. He also wanted to be prepared to change Lydia once the baby arrived. They would need venom and the Denali clan needed to be responsible for that. Edward knew he would not sire another vampire.
As Kate went to discuss options with the family and planned to hunt, Edward whispered in Bella's ear. "Ok to go in, love?" Bella swallowed, her throat suddenly dry, and nodded. "Let's go."
Bella and Edward moved from the hall to the bedroom, where a female body lay on her back, under a pile of blankets. Her head was turned to the side, with long, wavy brown hair obscuring the view of her face. As the couple advanced on the sleeping young woman, Bella had flashes of being bone-chillingly cold, and the warm arms Jacob wrapped around her, becoming almost unbearably warm, until Edward came to balance her body temperature. Bella felt her chest heave as she realized this woman had no such love or comforts. The baby wasn't conceived in love. No one attempted to study her pregnancy, the needs or wants or the fetus. No one fought with her about her will to live, or the fact that she would most likely die. Venom began to pool in the corners of Bella's eyes as she realized how much the Cullens had loved her, even as a human. Not just Edward, though she was now seeing just how deeply she cut him, a gaping wound that couldn't bleed or be stitched closed leaving only a scar. She now realized that had she died, she would have destroyed her husband, and caused irreparable damage to her entire family. God, she had been a selfish human.
With her internal musing and soul searching, she failed to notice that Edward had been drawn to the bed. The mane of brown hair was so like Bella's human hair. The shallow movement of the shoulders reminded him clearly of her difficult breathing patterns. He had to reach out to touch her. With overly gentle hands, he moved the soft brown waves away from the young woman's face.
Bella came out of her painful memories when she heard an anguished keening come from her husband's chest. Her eyes snapped to his form just in time to watch her husband fall to his knees, his hand caressing the sleeping girl's face, and with stifled growl, laced with more grief than she could ever remember he clearly crowed, "Bella, my Bella…no…not again!"