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Her body trembled uncontrollably as if she had been forced to swim a lap in the Arctic Ocean, teeth chattering like a wind up toy. Nessie couldn't understand what was happening to her, why she was under so much pain out of the blue. She opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was her husband's face buried on her knees, breathing heavily like a human motorboat. His mouth fell open slightly, a stream of drool running down from his nether lip to the cotton blanket tucked neatly underneath her legs.
Then, Renesmee took in more of her surroundings—periwinkle walls with painted yellow lilies seemed vaguely familiar to her tired mind, and she suddenly realized that she wasn't at home, back on La Push. Instead, Nessie heard whispers; a cold hand ruffled her copper bangs affectionately. She smiled, looking up at the angelic vampire, his own warm smile casting over his granddaughter—Carlisle Cullen.
"Hey, you. How are you feeling?" he questioned gently, as Jacob stirred.
Nessie stretched out her legs, popping her hipbone as she did so, and spread her toes apart. "I'm really cold."
Carlisle furrowed his eyebrows; he and Jacob shared a look of concern. "Renesmee, your fever worsened over night, so Jacob brought you here. Honey, you're drenched in sweat."
"That's amazing, because I feel like I could really use about seventeen Snuggies right about now," Nessie replied, and weakly sat up against the headboard. "Is that why the air-conditioner is on?"
"Yeah, Nessie. You have us all really worried. Bella would have paced a hole into the floor if Edward and Alice hadn't forced her to go hunt," Jacob said. The poor thing had dark circles around her eyes, which were dilated from exhaustion.
Nessie felt horrible for putting Jacob through this. Of course, she couldn't really expect for him not to worry himself sick; if the situation was reversed, she, too, would be urging her vampire grandfather to restore his health. She held his hand close, bringing it to rest over her heart.
"Jacob," she murmured fondly, her rich chocolate orbs full of devotion and love. "I'm so sorry, but I promise you that other than the bizarre weather report, I'm-"
"Don't even start that with me," the half-wolf half-man cautioned, keeping his tone form and even. He was too aware of the Nessie quaked like tectonic plates. "You don't need to sugarcoat the truth for my benefit.
"Nessie," Carlisle began, "do you think you can answer a few questions?"
"Yes, I'm certain I'm well enough for a pop quiz," she replied, joking with him to ease the tension in the room.
"Other than enduring your sister in-law's interesting meal last night, have you had any changes in your diet recently?" he inquired, grabbing a clipboard and a pencil off the nightstand.
"No, I don't suppose so. I hunt for a half-hour almost everyday, and we have a nice home-cooked supper every night," Nessie retorted, contemplating anytime she might have felt especially hungry.
"What about lack of sleep?"
"Um. . ." she blushed, giggling nervous at this inquiry. "If you must know, Carlisle, Jacob and I are physically active during late hours, and I wake up early-ish to run errands."
Carlisle took note of this as well. "Renesmee, you shouldn't be too alarmed, but I've already taken a few blood samples while you were sleeping. I've already learned that your birth control isn't cooperating with your system anymore."
"What?" Renesmee and Jacob asked in unison, eyes wide open and brows raised at maximum.
"It's very possible you could be pregnant, Renesmee. Rosalie went out this morning to purchase a test for you; we figured you'd prefer to do this the easy way. Although, I may need to conduct more research later," Carlisle explained, watching curiously as Nessie put a hand to her stomach. "If this is the case, it's possible yours and the child's body temperatures might be causing you this fever, as well as the chills you're experiencing. Your body is trying to balance out the heat and cold."
Nessie's mouth formed a small 'O,' her mind beginning to calculate the chances of becoming. . . She'd wondered a thousand times if she could even bare children, and this brand new feeling of the possibility—it was overwhelmingly extraordinary to imagine holding a russet-skinned baby with chubby cheeks and Jacob's dark brown eyes.
Rosalie entered the room, clutching a a little box between her hands. A relieved sigh wracked through the blonde vampire's body, and smiled at her favorite niece. "Nessie, thank the heavens! By the way you were out cold, I kind of thought you in a coma. The absolute worst possibilities have been running through my mind all morning." Nessie laughed at her aunt, and blew a kiss. "Oh, baby girl, we're all-"
"I know," Renesmee nodded, and slowly arose from the bed with Jacob holding onto her shoulders with a light grip. "Carlisle, can I. . .-I mean, should I take the test right now?"
"Of course, Nessie, if you want," Carlisle answered.
She glanced over her shoulder, back at Jacob. "It's okay. I can handle this part on my own," she promised as Rosalie handed the box over to to Renesmee, who dashed to the restroom in a hurry.
"Jacob? You seem a little distracted," Rosalie observed carefully, desiring to make different jokes to lighten the room's nervous atmosphere, but decided against it. "Are you okay?"
"I. . . She. . ." He couldn't seem to form a single coherent thought, let alone a complete sentence. "Pregnant. . . How could this. . . ?"
"Pregnant!" Edward's voice thundered from downstairs, and ran up with Bella. "You got our daughter pregnant?" His tone conveyed obvious confusion and bewilderment that Jacob could hardly blame him for, not anger.
"Oh, my God!" Bella yelled darting to Nessie as she reentered her childhood room, smiling sheepishly.
"Yes, yes, you've known for quite some time that when left to our own devices, Jacob and I inevitably have sex," Nessie announced, hating to be the center of attention over something like this. Is this what it must feel to be a gold fish?
"Everyone, remain calm," Carlisle instructed. "It was only a hunch. We will have to wait ten minutes or so before finding out. Until then, we must give Jacob and Nessie time alone," and finished with a sigh.
One. . .
Carlisle, Edward, Bella, and Rosalie retreated slowly out of the room, mumbling amongst themselves.
"I'll kill him," Bella threatened, her lovely face distorted in frustration.
"No, Bella. I read Jacob's thoughts earlier. He recognizes the changes well," Edward responded.
Rosalie halted momentarily, the four standing in the hallway. "No way! You couldn't mean that. . . That's impossible!"
"I have to agree with Rosalie, Edward, as this must be wishful thinking on Jacob's part over the alternative. To be sure, I will have to run more tests," Carlisle stated.
Two. . .
"Jacob, you're killing me," Nessie started, pleading with him to open up to her. "Say something, please? I know you're as surprised as I am, but we must discuss this." She sat on the foot of the bed, staring up at her husband with tears welling up behind her mahogany eyes. "I-I-I know what you thought about me when my mom was pregnant. You thought I would turn out to be some sort of monster—no soul, no heart to offer. I proved you wrong, didn't I? And our baby-"
"Nessie, Nessie, Nessie," the shape-shifter tsk lightheartedly.
Three. . .
"That's not what I'm scared about," he clarified, and wiped away the tears away with his thumbs. A shadow of a smile graced his lips, but never reached his eyes. "You've been everything to me since I first saw your big, beautiful brown eyes staring back at me. That moment changed me so much, and you. . . I knew from that moment on, all I wanted to do is protect you and be a part of your life. I want to have this with you, honey, but what if I lose you? Bella still died that day—sort of—but Edward acted quickly enough to save her. What if we're too late with you? Or the venom isn't compatible? Nessie, I can't imagine what I would become without you."
Four. . .
"Jake," she patted the spot next to her, beckoning him to sit next to her. Nessie pressed her sweaty forehead against his. "I won't—can't let myself be afraid of this. I can't," the hybrid repeated, "and neither should you. This baby is both of us."
He nodded, kissing his wife's nose. "I know, but I can't help it, Nessie. How could I find the will to carry on without you in my life? I'm not strong enough to—God, I know I'm not at all."
Five. . .
She frowned at him. "No, don't you dare do that to yourself. Jacob Black, you are the strongest man I know. Every time I doubted who I am—what I am—you were always there whenever I needed you. You never stopped trying to make me smile again. You give me strength, and I know that any child will be lucky to have you as a father."
Jake's oak orbs looked deep into hers, captivated by his imprint's undying faith in him. Of course she wouldn't know how utterly incomplete his life was before her; stories weren't enough to truly explain the downward spiral he was running to until she was born. Nessie knew the facts—his love for Bella Swan, his hatred for any vampire, how hard he fought to persuade to abort the vulnerable infant growing rapidly inside her womb, and that, at one point, he contemplated destroying his soul mate with his bare hands—but did she really know the tormented, torn feelings behind those disturbing truths?
Six. . .
No—not that. That much didn't matter anymore; they'd already worked through his terrible past along time ago. But. . . he a weak, sniveling coward without Nessie, the bright sphere that set his soul afire—she gave him purpose and meaning. Jacob was sure his spirit couldn't survive without his better half.
And so, the shape-shifter gingerly kissed the half-breed vampire all around her beautiful face—each purple eyelid, her cute nose, her puffy, red cheeks, and at last those sweet, full lips—like strawberry sauce to his taste buds.
Seven. . .
She could taste Jacob's every emotion against his soft, lingering mouth, as if she'd taken a shot of his secret heart. His fear, his anger, his doubt, his love coursed through her veins harshly, and Nessie cringed. A painful shiver tingled throughout her entire body, and she gently pushed him away.
"What happened?" he asked breathlessly.
Eight. . .
Her knees rattled like maracas as Nessie's heart literally skipped a beat. "I-I-," she stammered shortly. She was frustrated, not with Jacob, but with something else. "God! Has it been ten minutes yet? We're driving ourselves crazy over what could be nothing!" Her hand gripped the sheets on the messy mattress, an intense sensation wracking through her.
Nine. . .
"It's okay, Ness. Just try to calm down," he soothed, unsure if the mood swings usually start this early in a pregnancy—accelerated or not.
She shook her head. "Okay. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm just a little cranky." But the seconds ticked to away slowly into eternal oblivion, and she had to see the results right away. "C'mon, we have to see it now. I have to know." And they went into the restroom, where the test laid on the counter.
In the blink of an eye, everyone stood next to Nessie, peaking to see if there was a plus or minus symbol. And as her ten minutes of truth were up, the half-human half-vampire sighed inaudibly and looked to Jacob.
"I'm not pregnant."
Shameless Self-Promotion:
Check out my other Jessie fanfiction, which I'm currently hard at work at, Different Shades of Truth. Please and thank you.
Also! If you're looking for more great Jessie ffs, you can take a look at hennaluv's A Place in this World and Earthbound Sun. Tell her that she's a really good writer and everyone will appreciate it when she updates! ;)