Butterflies and Hurricanes
May 2029
It took us a long time to get back to "normal". Jacob was healed, he was okay physically. Mentally, it was a different story. He would wake up in cold sweats, having dreamed of the shooting and bombing at the UW. According to Henry, who was treating Jacob for PTSD, his limp-which he had from his leg injury-was also psychosomatic. His leg would only be bad during times where he was experiencing bad episodes of his disorder. It was a full year or so before his leg got better—there was still a slight limp in Jacob's step, but so minuscule now that you could only see it if you were paying close attention.
We had lost many friends that day. In all, thirteen officers died that day; five of them were good friends of ours—officers who visited us in the hospital when the kids were born, who came to birthday parties, who took care of our kids when life was crazy. Jake and I were in their weddings, visited them in the hospital when their kids were born, celebrated their birthdays, took care of their kids. And suddenly, they were gone. I felt lucky to have Jacob back, but when I saw the widows of those who had died, I couldn't help but feel guilty. Why had Jacob lived when thirteen others didn't?
It was hard, at first, to let Jacob go back to work. I was afraid he'd get hurt again. Anna and Percy wouldn't let go of his legs as he tried to walk out the front door. When they came home from school they'd sit in front of the door waiting for him to come home. And when he did, they wouldn't let go of him until I was forced to pry them off. It took us almost a year to get over our anxieties; to get over the fear of having Jacob get hurt again. And even then, we still have memory flashes, nightmares.
Because of the shooting, I took a step back and took a look at my life. I loved my job—I really did. And at first, I really thought that I could balance my highly demanding career and my family. And for a while, I could. But I was hardly ever home. And when I was, I was either exhausted, or sleeping. I was never home often enough to really be with my children, or my husband. I still have no clue how we managed to get pregnant three times; it seemed as if all I ever did was work, work, work. Was my job rewarding? Very. Was it stressful? Hard? Of course. But it was harder not being able to enjoy my family while I had them. Already, Anna and Percy were five (now, seven), and Nicole two (now, almost four). I wanted to enjoy my children while they were still little, and the only two that were still babies were Nicholas and Jay. I was missing out on so much of their lives.
I decided that I couldn't handle both my career and my family. But Jacob didn't make enough for the seven of us (to be able to stay where we were, and we couldn't afford another move), and I still needed to work. But I couldn't be at work 24/7. I love my job, but I love my family more. I left Swedish in May of 2028, and in August of the same year, I joined the Overlake Medical Center by Overlake hospital as a clinical physician for pediatrics. I didn't practice surgery anymore, but I was only one or two steps down from one who did. I got paid less, but I was home more. And in the end, that's all that ever mattered.
xXx
We thought that after Nicholas and Jacob were born, there wouldn't be any more babies. We thought that we'd only have the five. But, on September 11th of 2028, the year-anniversary of the "HUB disaster", the boys' first birthday, and my 33rd, things sort-of got out of hand. Seven weeks later, I found out I was pregnant. Again.
"Jacob," I called from the bathroom with a shaky voice. "Jacob, can you come in here?"
I braced myself on the sink, looking directly at the mirror, not breaking eye contact with myself. I waited for Jacob to set down whatever he was doing and come into the bathroom.
"Ness?" Jacob called from the bedroom door.
"In here," I replied.
Jacob stood at the door of the bathroom. "Are you okay?"
I turned from the mirror towards my husband. "I'm late." I crossed my arms, and leaned against the counter.
"Late?" Jacob's eyebrows knit together. It took him a minute to realize what I meant. The look of confusion turned to a look of concern.
"You're late," he repeated. "How late?"
"Three weeks."
Jacob sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "You don't think…"
"I don't think." I interrupted, pulling three positive tests from the sink. I waved them in Jacob's face.
"I know."
It was silent for a full two minutes. Jacob walked from the bathroom to the bed, and sat on it with a heavy sigh. Rubbing his neck, he looked up at me.
"I thought you didn't want any more kids," he commented.
"I don't want any more kids." I corrected. "I thought we were both in the same boat."
"We were." Jacob nodded. He rubbed his thighs nervously.
"Would you care to explain to me how I got pregnant?"
He was silent. I sighed, defeated, tired. I made my way towards the bed. I sat next to Jacob and buried my face in my hands with a groan.
"I'm sick and tired of being pregnant," I commented. "The last one was bad enough."
I felt Jacob's hand on my lower back. He rubbed it soothingly, and gently kissed the base of my neck.
"We can do this," he said. "We can do this one last pregnancy." He placed his other hand over my flat stomach.
"Six kids, Jacob." I sighed, and rested my head on his shoulder. "Six kids. Three more, and we could be famous on TLC."
Jacob chuckled lightly. "Six is the limit, I swear." He raised his hand. "I'll get a vasectomy, if that makes you happy."
I laughed. "Thanks."
Jacob lifted my head and gave me a gentle kiss. "I love you. Especially when you're pregnant."
I laughed again. "Really?" I asked.
He smiled. "There's just something about my beautiful wife that's even more so when she's pregnant. I don't know what it is, but it makes you so beautiful…something I didn't know was possible until Anna and Percy." He gave me another kiss.
My lips melted under his, but I pulled away. "This is how we got pregnant in the first place," I reminded him.
"And I am not finding out three weeks from now that we have twins."
This pregnancy had been the worst. I had violent morning sickness until I was sixteen weeks, and nausea until I was twenty-four weeks. I had constant, debilitating backaches that made it hard to do anything except lie down. Whether it was caused by the mood swings or by the sickness and backache, I was always in a bad mood, or crying. Headaches ran rampant, coupled with an occasional migraine. Sleep was my only refuge, but I sacrificed a good number of naps to help Jacob with the kids.
I ended up taking an early maternity leave at twenty-six weeks instead of thirty-six, because it got hard to balance both work and a hard pregnancy. Towards the end, it got a little easier with help from my parents. One or both of them would come over during the day while Jacob was at work to take care of Nicole, Nicholas, and Jay. With Nicole in preschool for half of the day, we only had two kids to take care of from noon to three. Anna and Percy participated in after-school activities, and didn't come home until five. For a while, I got a little break from my daily routine, which was nice. I was in a better mood, and the migraines, headaches, and backaches seemingly went away. I got to spend extra time with my kids, and get excited for our last little girl.
Three weeks before the due-date, I started experiencing cramping and abdominal pain that were not contractions. Unlike a contraction, this pain was coming from inside, and hurt less, more like a false contraction. At first, I thought that it was just a sign that labor was getting close. But two days into the cramping, I started bleeding.
I tried to stay calm, as I found and applied a liner. I finished, and left the bathroom. I found Jake in the kitchen, getting ready to leave for work.
"Hey," Jake wrapped an arm around my almost non-existent waist, and gave me a kiss. "You alright?" he furrowed his brows. "You look a little pale,"
"Fine," I said softly. "But, uh, I think there's something wrong with the baby." I placed a hand over my stomach. Jacob opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Anna.
"What's happening?" Anna asked, as she and Percy walked into the kitchen. She carried Jacob with her arms wrapped underneath his armpits, around his chest.
"I wan down!" Jacob said, kicking his arms and legs. "Me down!"
"Anna, put your brother down." I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling another headache come on.
"But, Mommy, we're playing House, and I'm the mommy and Percy's the daddy and J.J. is the baby and babies need to be carried."
"Sweetheart, Jacob doesn't want to be carried right now." Jacob said, lowering to Anna's eye level. "Maybe the house game can have an older baby instead?"
"Fine." Anna huffed. She set Jacob down on the floor, and he toddled away.
"Thank you, sweetie." Jacob kissed Anna's forehead, and stood up as Anna followed her younger brother out of the kitchen.
I felt a sharp, stabbing pain wave through my abdomen. I grabbed onto Jacob's hand, and he turned towards me enough so I could bury my head in his shoulder. I let out a large, uneven breath, as I tried to get through the pain. I felt Jacob's hand massaging my lower back.
"Mom?" I heard Percy's voice quaver; he sounded scared.
"Mom's alright," I breathed, feeling the pain pass. "I'm okay," I lifted my head and turned to face my eldest son.
"Come here," I said gently, stretching my hand out. He placed his in mine, and walked towards me.
"I'm alright, I promise." I said. I tried to lower to Percy's level, but was unsucsessful. "You know how when a mom has a baby, she goes through some pain?"
Percy nodded. "Like what happened when Nicholas and J.J. were born?"
I nodded. "Exactly what happened."
"Is that happening now?" His eyes widened
"I think so." I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. "Do you want to call Grandma and let her know, so she and Grandpa can come over?"
"Okay." He took the phone and left.
Jacob faced me. "Something wrong with the baby? What's wrong? What happened?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "But, that cramping I've been having the last couple days? That's not normal. At first maybe I thought it was some sort of early labor, but now I've started bleeding."
"Bleeding?" Jacob's eyebrows knitted together in concern. "Oh, Renesmee…" His hands grazed over my stomach.
"I'm sure that she's fine, Jake." My voice quavered. "We just need to get to Swedish as soon as we can. The sooner the better."
Jacob nodded with a sigh. He ran a hand through his hair. "Okay. Okay."
"Grandma said she'd be here in ten minutes." Percy said, walking back into the kitchen. I took my phone back and put it in my pocket.
"Thanks, sweetheart."
"Can I watch some TV?"
"Sure." Jacob smiled. He followed Percy out of the kitchen.
I sighed, leaning against the counter. I placed a hand on my stomach, and ran it clockwise around it.
"Please be okay." I whispered.
xXx
"Mark says you've started bleeding?" Laura questioned, turning on the sonogram, lifting my shirt.
I nodded. "I've been experiencing some cramping and abdominal pain, but nothing like contractions. The bleeding didn't start until this afternoon."
"How long has the pain been going on?"
"Two, three days." If Laura was concerned, she was hiding it very well.
"I want to do an internal examination, but let's see if an ultrasound will tell us anything." She squeezed the all-too familiar cold gel onto my stomach, and I held onto Jacob's hand. He stroked my forehead with his other, and gave me a soft kiss on my hairline.
"Everything is going to be okay," he said softly. "You and Baby will be just fine."
I watched Laura's face as she proceeded with the sonogram. Her face was completely expressionless, until she moved the wand lower, towards the base of my large stomach. Her lips pursed, and she leaned closer to the machine, squinting her eyes slightly.
"Is everything okay?" Worry coated my voice.
Laura shook her head, unsure of herself. "I'm not sure I like what I'm seeing." She turned off the machine, wiping off the gel from my stomach with a paper towel. She put on gloves, and I spread my legs, getting ready for the uncomfortable internal exam.
"Just relax, Renesmee," Laura said soothingly. "There we go…"
The exam took no more than five minutes. Laura threw away the gloves, and pulled a chair close to the bed, and sighed, running a hand through her hair.
"The placenta is very close to your cervix," she started. "And the part that's closet to your cervix has started to tear from the wall, both of which have been causing the bleeding and pain. I would say the diagnosis is a combination of placenta abruption and placenta previa."
"What does that mean?" Jacob asked. "I...I mean, what's going to happen? Will Nessie be okay? And what about the baby? Will she be okay?" Jacob's grip on my hand tightened slightly. I reached over and held onto it, letting him know that I would be fine. His grip lessened.
"Both will be fine." Laura reassured. "To be safe, I would like to have Nessie admitted. It would allow us to keep better track of what's going on with baby and Nessie."
"Will I be able to give birth naturally?" I asked.
Laura pursed her lips in thought. "Well…as long as nothing happens, no more bleeding, no high blood pressure, no stress, then there shouldn't be a problem with a vaginal delivery. But if anything happens, then we are going to perform an emergency C-section. Is that understood?"
"Of course."
Laura smiled softly. "I know this is a little scary, but everything's going to be fine. Baby will be fine, and you'll be fine." She stood up.
"I'm going to get some paperwork started, Jacob, if you could come with me…"
Jacob gave me a quick kiss, and left with Laura.
xXx
Because I wanted to deliver naturally, and avoid the recovery of surgery as much as I possibly could, Laura started me on a small dose of Pitocin, to get a start on labor. Contractions didn't start until the next morning, and right away they were bad.
"Maybe we should have the surgery," Jacob suggested, after a particularly bad contraction. He let go of my hand, flexing his own, and massaging it with his other.
"This doesn't seem to be helping. The surgery would be better for you and the baby."
"No," I panted, trying to push myself into a comfortable sitting position. "I can do this, just a few more hours…" I rested against the bed, and ran my hands down the length of my stomach, closing my eyes.
"Just a few more hours…" Labor had already lasted three hours, and I was dilated to five. I was halfway there.
"I know you don't want surgery, but Ness…"
Jacob was interrupted by Anna, Percy, and Nicole, who ran into the room.
"Mommy, Daddy!" They shrieked, delight tickling their voices. Mom and Dad trailed in behind them, each holding a twin.
"Hey guys," I smiled, laughing slightly. "What brings you all here?"
"I missed you." Nicole said. "Grandma said we could come and see you for a little bit." She crawled up onto the bed, and hugged my legs.
"We missed you two, sweetheart." Jacob said, sitting on the edge of the bed. He sat Nicole in his lap and stroked his hand through her hair.
"What's all this stuff?" Percy asked, looking around at the many wires. His eyes were wide.
"These wires help monitor what's going on with the baby," Mom answered.
"Come here," I motioned for Percy to come closer. "See this one around my tummy?" He nodded.
"This one keeps track of Baby's heartbeat," I pointed over at the monitor, "see? That fast one there is Baby's."
"Cool," Anna and Percy said, smiling. "Can we feel the baby?"
I thought for a moment. "You won't be able to feel her kick. She's all out of room."
"That's okay." Anna shrugged.
"Okay," I said. "But be careful, I don't want you guys moving any wires or things around, okay?"
"Okay."
The kids gently placed their hands around my stomach, and talked to the baby.
"Hi, Baby," Anna said. "I'm your big sister. I can't wait to see you. We're going to have so much fun; but Mom says we have to wait until you're older. But I guess I can wait."
"I still want you to be a boy." Percy said. "We already have two sisters. You don't want that, do you?"
"No, sister!" Nicole said. "Mommy said we get a sister. I want a sister!"
"Nicole, don't yell," Jacob scolded.
"Sister!" Anna said, voice rising.
"Brother!" Percy retorted.
"Andromeda, Perseus, knock it off."
"Guys…" I started, feeling an immense pressure starting to build. I sat up a little more and opened my legs, trying to relive it.
"Ness?" Mom asked. I felt her hand on my shoulder. "Is everything alright?"
"This is it," I said. "She's coming."
Mom's eyes widened slightly, and nodded. "Kids," she stood up, and collected the five of them.
"It's time to say goodbye to Mom and Dad, Baby's on her way."
Slowly, the contraction faded. I was able to give and receive hugs and kisses from the kids before another contraction ripped through my body, more painful than any of the last ones. I wasn't sure of it being a contraction. It felt as if something inside was ripping itself from whatever it was attached to; I could feel my body splitting in half. My face twisted, and I let out a pained gasp, my fingers clutching around my stomach.
"Mommy?" Nicole whimpered. There were more scared whimpers from the others.
"Get them out," I said through gritted teeth. "Get them out now." Mom and Dad quickly skirted the kids out, and I grabbed onto Jacob's shirt, pulling him down with a pained scream.
"Laura," I managed. "Get Laura."
"She's coming," Jacob said, untangling my hand from his shirt. "She's on her way."
Pressing my upper body against the bed, I opened my legs and put them in the stirrups, trying to relieve the pain, the pressure that suddenly began. I screamed out in pain, and tried not to push. Tears rolled down my cheeks, coupled with sweat. The urge, however, was overpowering, this pain, this pressure, suddenly too much for my body to handle.
Jacob pressed a cold compress over my forehead. Water mixed with sweat, and ran down my face.
"You're doing great, sweetheart. Just hold on a little longer. You can do this." Jacob placed his hand in mine.
Pain was all I could feel. It overtook my body, burning, blazing, boiling, blinding pain, scorching every part of my body. Labor didn't usually feel like this, not that I could remember. This pain, this screaming, agonizing pain…this was something else entirely.
Laura jogged into the room, slipping on gloves. She pulled up a rolling seat, and sat down, getting ready to check my progress.
"Nessie, one-to-ten, what's the pain like?" She asked quickly.
I shook my head. "More. Much more." More pain, more pressure. I cried out in pain, as Laura's hand slipped out. She sucked in a breath, and I looked down, finding myself bleeding. Laura muttered curses, and turned to Jacob, tearing off her gloves.
"Jacob, I need you to run to the nurses' desk, tell them to get O.R. One ready for an emergency Caesarean." She said urgently. Jacob did as told.
"No," I said. "No, I need to push," I cried. "She's coming, any minute now."
"Renesmee, this isn't a matter of what you want anymore." Laura said sternly. She held me against the bed.
"This is a matter of the safety and health of you and that baby. I am going to do everything in my power to make sure nothing happens to either of you."
"No," I cried out. "She's coming. Right now, she's coming. Just a few more minutes." In the background, I could hear the fast heartbeat of the baby slow.
"If we wait any longer, you're putting yourself and this baby in serious danger, Renesmee. Do you understand me? We can't wait any longer."
Jacob came back with nurses behind him. They pushed in front of him, a few trying to keep him out of the room. Everything was in chaos. The pain got worse, monitors screamed in the background. Laura tried to keep me from pushing, but the urge was overpowering.
The nurses quickly got me prepped, and started to get the bed out of the room. Jacob spotted me, and rushed to my side.
"Don't leave me," I cried.
"Never." He promised.
"I can't…"
"Stay strong, Nessie." Jacob replied, grabbing onto my hand, struggling to keep up with Laura and the nurses.
I shook my head, defeated. "No," I whispered.
"Renesmee, I love you." Jacob did his best to give me a kiss. "You don't get to do this to me."
I tried to smile at the irony. I shook my head again, and let it fall to the side of the bed, letting the last thing I saw be my husband.
xXx
Jacob
In almost an instant, everything falls apart.
Everything was in chaos. I tried to get closer to Nessie, but nurses pushed me away.
"Mr. Black, please." One said. "You can't be in here right now, please…"
"No," I fought back, trying to get into the room. "That's my wife, please…"
"She's very critical right now, Mr. Black," another said. "We don't have the time for you to comfort her right now."
"I don't care! That is my wife; she needs me…"
The nurses were able to get me just outside the room before the monitors in Nessie's room began to scream, accompanied by Nessie. I felt like collapsing. I would have, if it weren't for the nurses there to catch me.
When they pulled her from the room, I rushed to her side, grabbing onto her hand. Her face was red, her hair matted down to her cheeks and forehead by sweat and tears. She looked so weak, so vulnerable. My heart sank, but I needed to be strong for her.
"Don't leave me…" She whimpered.
"Never." I promised.
"I can't…" She closed her eyes.
"Stay strong, Nessie." I prompted, trying to keep her awake.
She shook her head, defeated. "No," She whispered.
"Renesmee, I love you." I did my best to give her a kiss. "You don't get to do this to me." I pleaded.
She shook her head again, a smile faint on her lips. Her head sank, her eyes opened slightly, looking at me. My lips trembled, and a few tears escaped, running down my dry cheeks.
"I love you," She whispered, before her body fell lax. I let go of her hand, and fell back, watching as they pushed passed the double doors leading towards the operating rooms. I walked around the center blindly, until I ended up in the family waiting room, where my family was.
"Daddy!" All five kids ran towards me. I kneeled, and opened my arms to them.
"Hey, guys." I said, giving them a quick hug.
"Is the baby here?" Anna asked excitedly.
My heart sunk slightly. I moved from kneeling to sitting, and the kids followed. I took Nicholas and Jay and sat them in my lap.
"Not exactly," I started. "Something bad happened, and she started to bleed. The doctor had to take Mom into a surgery called a 'C-Section', and that's where she is right now. Her doctor will deliver the baby that way, and then do everything she can to fix what's wrong with Mom."
"Will she be okay?" Percy asked.
I sighed, and rubbed the back of my neck, looking down. "I hope so," I looked up at the kids as I answered.
"I just don't know right now. I'm sure that Mom will be okay, but for now we don't know."
"Okay." The older two sighed, and went back to their toys, which were sitting at their grandparents' feet. Nicholas and Jacob followed.
"Don't worry, Daddy." Nicole said, putting her hand on my knee. "Mommy will be okay."
"Really?" I smirked, and lifted her into my lap. "And how do you know that?"
Nicole smiled. "Because she's Mommy. And Mommy says that even though she doesn't look okay, she'll get better."
I smiled, and kissed Nicole's forehead. I hugged her tight to my chest. "You really think so, sweetheart?"
"Of course I do, Daddy." Nicole said, matter-of-factly. "Mommy's always right."
"That is true," I said. "That is true."
I gave my youngest daughter one last kiss, and let her go play with her siblings. I got up, and sat with Nessie's parents, and anxiously waited for Nessie to be out of surgery.
.
xXx
Two long hours passed before the surgery was over. Laura came from around the corner, and into the waiting area.
"Mr. Black?" She asked, standing in the open doorway.
"Yes, that's me," I got up, and headed towards the nurse.
"Daddy?" The kids got up and trailed behind me.
I turned and lowered down. "Wait here with Grandma and Grandpa; I'll be back in a little while, okay? I need to talk to the nurse about Mommy."
"Okay." They turned back to their toys.
I got up and followed Laura outside into the hallway.
"Is she okay?" I asked quickly
"She just got out of surgery and is currently being brought into recovery. She's doing just fine."
"And the baby?" I questioned. "Is she okay?"
"Well, she's three weeks early, and she went about a minute or two without oxygen due to the placenta's tearing. She went through something called 'birth asphyxia'. She wasn't breathing when we delivered her, and she was a little jaundiced. Neonatologists were able to get her breathing under a minute, and transported her to the NICU."
My stomach dropped. I felt my heart stop. My mouth went dry. "She went without oxygen, and wasn't breathing?"
"No," Laura started. "But we were able to get oxygen in her system and breathing in under a minute."
"So she's okay?"
Laura nodded. "Yes. She was in NICU for only an hour for phototherapy and testing. Everything turned out completely normal."
I let out a sigh of relief, and ran a hand through my hair. "So, they're okay now? The surgery went okay?"
Laura nodded slowly. "The surgery went well; but not without its complications."
"Complications?" I furrowed my eyebrows, and crossed my arms.
"When Renesmee passed out on the way to the O.R., her uterus ruptured. From what, we're not sure, but I think it may have to do with the stress from the contractions and the placenta's violent tearing." She started.
"We were able to put Renesmee under general and deliver the baby in less than ten minutes. As soon as we delivered her, we went straight to working on trying to fix Renesmee's uterus, but she was bleeding too much for us to fix it without Renesmee having serious and dire complications. We ended up performing an emergency hysterectomy, removing the uterus and cervix, leaving her ovaries. But, she'll be able to go home in three days, and she'll be fully recovered in about eight weeks. I don't want her returning to work for another eight weeks after she's recovered…"
As she spoke, I slowly sat back down in the chair. Renesmee had a hysterectomy…that meant that her uterus was removed, meaning…
We couldn't have any more kids.
A few years ago, I might have been upset over the information. But after what happened today, I welcomed the news gladly. I was just happy she was okay, that I didn't lose her. Or our daughter. Everyone was okay, our family still intact.
"Jacob?" Laura's voice brought me out of my thoughts. "Is everything alright?"
I nodded, swallowing. "Yeah. Great, actually. Thanks, for saving her. For saving them."
"No need, Jacob." She smiled. "She should be waking up in about an hour…until then, would you like to meet your new daughter?"
I nodded. "Yeah. That would be great. Let me just let everyone know."
"I'll meet you in the nursery," Laura said, standing up.
"Is Mommy okay?" was the first question I was greeted with when I arrived back in the room.
I laughed lightly as I kneeled to greet the kids. "Yes, Mommy is okay. And so is your new baby sister. Would you like to go see her?"
"And then we can see Mommy, right?" Anna asked.
"Well, sweetheart, Mommy just had a really big surgery, and I don't think she'll be up to having visitors today." Their faces fell.
"But," I continued. "I bet, that if you're on your best behavior for the rest of the day, then Grandma and Grandpa will take you to visit tomorrow."
"Really?" They looked from me to their grandparents. "Is Daddy telling the truth?"
"Well," Edward started, kneeling to the best of his ability. "That depends. Are you guys going to behave tonight?"
"Of course!" They jumped excitedly.
"Now, let's go meet your new sister."
xXx
Amelia Sage Black
Born 3 pm May 10th, 2029 (three weeks early)
Weight: 8 lbs. 11 oz.
Length: 21 inches
I hit the "send" button, and looked back down at my new daughter.
Amelia was the picture of perfection; but I've said that about all six kids. Her complexion, although slightly yellowed, was a perfect mixture of mine and Renesmee's. Her almond-shaped eyes, taken from her mother, were dark, but I guessed that they would soon turn green, like Edward's. She had my cheekbones, and Renesmee's nose. Ten fingers, ten toes. She had silky black hair growing from the crown of her head. Not much; just a little surrounding her crown. Little Amy was beautiful.
I was sitting in the room, waiting for Renesmee to be brought into the room. Bella had left a half hour ago to tell Edward and the kids about Renesmee and Amelia. I spent this time waiting for Renesmee in the corner of her room, holding Amelia. She was sleeping comfortably in my arms, sighing every so often.
"Hey, beautiful girl," I whispered, gently stroking her cheek. "I'm your daddy," I lifted her slightly, and gently rested my nose above her forehead, letting her sweet smell engulf my senses. I moved to kiss her forehead, and lowered her back down.
The door opened, and Renesmee's bed was pushed in. She was still sleeping, under heavy sedation. Laura and the nurse I couldn't remember the name of rolled the bed in, and set it up.
"She should be waking up soon," Laura smiled, leaving the room. "I'll be back in about an hour to check on her," Laura closed the door behind her.
I put Amelia in the bassinette and pulled the chair closer to Renesmee's bed. I slipped my hand into hers and waited.
xXx
The first thing I hear is Jacob's voice.
"I'm so proud of you, Renesmee." He whispered softly. I felt his thumb stroke the top of my hand gently, his lips pressed up against it.
"I love you."
My eyelids were weighted; it took great effort to even crack them open. Every part of my body felt heavy, my abdomen burned.
"Hi," I whispered through a scratchy, burning throat.
Through hazy eyes, I could see Jacob's smile. "Hey, beautiful." He twisted back, and grabbed a cup of water that was behind him. He lifted the cup to my mouth. I let the water run over my dried lips, down my scorching throat.
"Thanks," I smiles softly.
"How are you feeling?"
I closed my eyes and rested my head against the pillow, taking a deep breath.
"Sore…tired. Everything feels heavy, and my abdomen burns...well, it's more like a stinging. Not much. Just the normal pains of surgery recovery." I opened my eyes and looked at Jacob.
"What happened exactly? I'm sort-of fuzzy on what happened after I passed out."
Jacob scratched the back of his neck. Something he always did when he was nervous.
"Well…" he started. "Laura said that what was causing the pain and bleeding was the placenta tearing, and trying to be delivered before the baby. And that how it was tearing caused your uterus to rupture. After Amelia was born, they tried to fix it, but you were bleeding too much. So, she had to perform a partial hysterectomy."
I nodded, letting out a sigh. "Okay. I can live with that."
Jacob chuckled lightly.
"Where's Amelia?" I asked, pushing myself into a sitting position with a few pained gasps.
"Right here," Jacob smiled. He got up, and lifted Amelia from the bassinette. Her arms twitched slightly, but she stayed asleep. Gently, Jacob placed her over my chest. She curled her arms and legs closer to her body as I cupped one hand underneath her bottom, and another overtop her backside. She took a deep breath through her nose, and sighed contently, all the while still sleeping.
"Hey, pretty lady." I whispered, lifting her slightly to give her forehead a kiss. "I'm your mommy."
She opened her eyes, and looked around, but keeping her gaze mostly on her father. Her nostrils flared, taking in my scent. I gently wrapped my hand around her arm, stroking it with my thumb, humming softly.
"She's beautiful," I murmured, looking from Amelia to Jacob.
"I did have some help, you know." Jacob smiled, and gave me a kiss. I laughed lightly underneath his lips.
I was able to stay awake and aware of my surroundings while I was up, which was nice, considering the fact that I had morphine running through my system. After a few hours of getting to know little Amelia, Jacob went home to be with the kids, and I ended up sleeping until the next morning. By then, the pain from the surgery and subsided slightly, thanks to the morphine, and the fact that I didn't have a swollen, descended uterus pushing up against the incision site. Laura came in to check on me, and to tell me everything that went down during the surgery, and the after effects that would come from it. Because my ovaries were left in, I could still have a baby with Jacob through IVF and surrogacy, if I really wanted a seventh child. I would be able to leave Swedish the same time as Amelia, although it would be about four months before I could return to work (but, I'm not complaining. That gives me an extra eight weeks to be a stay-at-home mom, giving me time to adjust to taking care of six children under the age of 10). This would be a difficult transition, but one that ultimately saved my life. Had she chosen to continue with fixing the rupture, I could have easily bled out.
The next day, Mom and Dad brought in the older five to visit. Trying to get them all to settle down enough to hold her and sit on the bed with me was quite the affair. We had to explain to them several times over that I had a big surgery that left me feeling very sore on my tummy, and they couldn't climb all over me. The older three were great with Amelia, but Nicholas and Jay needed a little help. Mostly, the younger two decided to stand up on a chair, and lean over the bassinette while Amelia slept.
"We's watson her, Momma!" They smiled, when I asked what they were doing. "We's good brofers." They too were in the habit of talking at the same time, saying the same thing. The next few years with these two would surely be interesting.
Jacob laughed, and picked up Jay. "Yes, you are very good big brothers."
The similarities between Jacob and Jacob Jr. were growing each day, it seemed. Jay ate just like Jacob, got his hair cut like Jacob's, and said that he wanted to grow up to be Jacob. He did anything and everything that Jacob did—when it came up that he couldn't do certain things, like shave, he'd settle for watching his father in admiration. Nicholas, according to my parents, was more like me rather than Jacob—a little trouble maker. Seemingly sweet, he wasn't afraid to do what it took to get what he wanted.
All of our kids had little pieces of Jacob and I intertwined into their personalities. Anna was just about as anal retentive about school work as I was. Percy loved to fix things—anything he could get his hands on, he would fix in an instant. His favorite past time was to watch Jacob fix cars, if he had the time. Nicole's a preppy tomboy, sweet to those she likes, horrible to those she doesn't. Mom calls her 'Little Nessie'. Amelia, although she was only hours old, not even a full day, was already a little princess. She already had Jacob wrapped around her little finger, just like Anna and Nicole had done. I couldn't wait to see what unfolded in Amelia as she grew up, to see what the future held in store for the six of them.
xXx
Life quickly settled into its old routine after Amelia and I came home. It was hard at first, because of the surgery, but as time went on, the recovery got easier, and soon, I was completely recovered. Life became a crazy mess of young children, work, and a small amount of what I would call "alone time" with Jacob, which was a very small fraction of the day. But I don't know what my life would be like without the craziness, and I don't think I want to know. I loved how life turned out for us.
We had a crazy life, but it was our life. And I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
