Disclaimer: Twilight is the property of Stephenie Meyer, much to the dismay of millions of teenage girls around the world who wish they could have Edward Cullen. (I'm happy with a real guy, thanks)
A/N: This fanfiction takes place during/after the events of Breaking Dawn.
The Twilight Lexicon's character bios were very helpful in the writing of this chapter, because I really didn't care enough while reading the books to pay attention to everyone's birthday, back story, and how old they were when they were turned into vampires.
Chapter Four: Testing the Truth
The family watched through the windows from the living room at the incident occurring amongst Bella, Jacob and Edward in the backyard. Their tuned ears heard the crack of bone as Seth jumped between them when Bella lunged at Jacob.
"I can fix that." Carlisle stated, as he stood solemnly with his arms crossed in front of him. "The wolves heal quickly anyway, one of their racial traits to defend against any injuries from fighting vampires."
"I'd say 'mad' is an understatement for Bella right now." Emmett laughed and Alice turned slightly toward him
"Really? I never would have guessed." Her pixie look gave her sarcasm a quirky edge and her round innocent eyes were fixed widely on him.
"How would you feel? He's been going after her romantically for about a year now, and then all of a sudden BOOM! He imprints on her daughter. I can't believe we're going to be related to that dog." He sneered and Alice added
"They do smell bad. Humans can't tell, but I think Bella has come to notice that since she became one of us."
At that point Bella stormed away from the situation, and Carlisle went about setting Seth's bones so they would heal properly. Rosalie was still attached like Velcro to Renesmee, obsessed with her duties of pseudo-motherhood.
As the day dwindled to a close, Alice gave Carlisle an expectant look and he nodded discreetly to her.
"Emmett, Jasper, Edward, may have a moment with you please?" His silky voice carried softly through the living room, and the three men stood up to follow the man they had come to see as a father upstairs to his study.
He closed the door and motioned for the three to make themselves comfortable before he leaned against one of the bookshelves and sighed.
"What is it Carlisle?" Emmett asked, Jasper could sense his emotional discomfort, and Edward probably already knew what he was going to say.
"Earlier today Alice came to me with a few questions I hadn't thought to ask," he began ambiguously, "specifically about how Renesmee is alive today when she defies the laws of biology."
"We all defy the laws of biology, Carlisle, walking around without a pulse or breath. You're a doctor, you should know that." Edward continued
"You studied biology rather extensively too, if I am not mistaken. It is not so much her present existence that is in question, but her beginning. As we all know, when a human becomes a vampire, all bodily processes stop, no more need to eat or sleep, no production of waste, and women don't menstruate."
"Why are you telling us what we already know?" Jasper inquired
"He's getting to it, just let him talk," Edward reassured Jasper before turning his topaz eyes back to Carlisle.
"Thank you Edward. What I am saying is that if all processes did stop, then men would not produce sperm, and would not be able to fertilize an egg. And since vampires must somehow digest or incorporate the blood we consume, and some change occurs in our body that produce our venom, it stands to reason that there are factors in play we have not yet considered. No one knows precisely how the vampire body works because it has never been fully studied."
The other three men took on contemplative looks, Edward ran through his extensive knowledge of human physiology to attempt to explain the phenomena. Jasper was busy thinking about what the implications of Carlisle's statement could mean for Alice, Rosalie, and all vampire women who were so desperate to have children of their own. Emmett was slightly confused as to the nature of the whole situation, because he was prepared to take it as a miracle and leave it at that.
"What I am proposing is that," Carlisle paused and cleared his throat because it was much easier discussing this matter with Alice, "I would take and analyze samples of your… ejaculate fluid. One sample from when you had fed very recently so you were satisfied, one where you had fed relatively recently and perhaps only sated, and one when you had not fed in a long time, and see if there were any differences between them."
The men reacted nearly as Carlisle had predicted they would, with a general opposition and mild disgust at the idea. Emmett was the most against it, Edward disagreeing, but less vehemently, and Jasper hardly saying anything at all. Carlisle noticed his silence and chagrined expression and asked
"Is something the matter, Jasper?"
"I'd be in favor of it. Alice is so torn apart by this baby situation that I want to do anything I can to help her, and if this will help, I'm all for it."
Silence descended for a few moments and Edward looked in Jasper's direction before he turned back to Carlisle and with the tone of a man making a grudging, but willing, sacrifice, said
"I'll do it too."
Then they all looked at Emmett who backed up a step and crossed his arms
"I said no, I'm not going to do it." His resolve was firm as he looked at the other three men in the room, but as time passed, and the expressions on the faces of his family took effect on him, he began to waver. He did not show it though, he tried to stifle his indecision by thinking about the situation itself and how wrong it seemed in his mind.
"Emmett, if you won't do it for Alice, do it for Rosalie. If Carlisle finds something that can make it some vampire women can have their own children, Rosalie would be the happiest vampire in existence." Jasper did what he did best, he appealed to emotion. It was this straw that broke Emmett down into saying
"Alright, fine. I'll do it."
"Good. I recommend that the first sample you give is when you haven't fed in a long time, say, two or three weeks. Give it to me right before you go out hunting. I have containers prepared." Carlisle walked to his desk and pulled several small jars with labeled lids from the drawer.
"And please make sure you use the right container. I don't want to have to put you through this more than I have to."
"And what about you?" Emmett asked
"I'll be analyzing myself as well. God knows that Esme's maternal instinct is the most powerful thing about her. It's why she loves each and every one of you so much."
"Okay. Don't keep us in the dark about what you find out, Carlisle, this actually sounds like an interesting experiment." Edward declared, taking his jars and leaving the room.
Emmett followed with his own containers, wordlessly, and then Jasper said
"Thank you for doing this to help Alice. I certainly didn't know what I was supposed to do."
"Don't worry about it Jasper. I'm as curious as she is about this process, and I hope that maybe it will help us explain if not understand how vampire pregnancies could work."
A/N 2.0: Thank you so much to all of you who keep reviewing, I really appreciate it.