A/n: Thanks to Aleighy and Maleficentknits. You're awesome.
More notes at the end.
"We need to talk."
Possibly the most sinister sentence in the English language is what woke me up at dawn. Edward was crouched next to me in a tent. I was predictably shocked by my wake-up call as well as my location.
When did he set up a tent?
I considered arguing. I thought about asking where we were. I pondered informing the irritated vampire next to me that the sun was barely on the horizon. If I'd been with the pack I would have said something, but this was Edward.
"Yeah," I groaned. There were things that we needed to discuss.
"You should have told me," he seethed. Waking up to an angry Edward was not pleasant.
Told him? Told him what?
Oh.
The pregnancy.
"Oh, yeah, that…"
"Yes, that," he spat. "The fact that you're carrying a mutt's baby should have crossed your mind."
"I'm not –"
"Excuse me." He raised one perfect eyebrow at me like I'd said something amusing. "You most certainly are."
The movement from his eyebrow brought my gaze to his eyes, which weren't red. I froze. Edward's eyes matched Carlisle's, and the rest of the Cullens'.
"Your eyes," I breathed.
"You're pregnant!"
"It's not his." I said, stumbling over the words. It seemed that we would have to get through the whole pregnancy conversation before we could cover anything else.
"Whose?" he growled.
I looked away. He didn't believe me. I felt foolish for expecting him to actually hear me out. In addition, his eyes were distracting. They were a deep golden topaz, with darker flecks. I looked down to avoid them because nothing about this situation felt right, and eye contact was only making it worse.
"Eyes," he ordered, and I complied with a sigh. "Now, answer me."
I didn't answer; I felt my cheeks heat. I shouldn't have slept with Jacob, hurt feelings or not, it never should have happened. That night put me in the situation of feeling like one of those pathetic girls on Jerry Springer.
"How many?" Edward growled, turning away from me.
"How many…?" I asked, somewhat perplexed.
"How many boys did you sleep with while you were gone?" His quiet tone betrayed exactly how pissed off Edward was.
"Just Jake," I sighed. How was I going to tell him that this was his baby? I had no proof, just a feeling. "It was only the one time. I didn't know where I fi– "
"Then whom exactly do you propose impregnated you? I'm fairly certain that you have a passable knowledge of biology," he cut me off.
"I think it's yours," I said as soon as I could find the words.
"Mine?" He turned back to me, aghast.
"Yes, yours." I felt my cheeks turn a deeper shade of red. Why was this so hard?
"Mine?" he repeated.
I nodded.
"That's not possible, Bella," he laughed.
"I'm fairly certain that it is possible," I countered.
"In case it hasn't occurred to you, vampires don't reproduce."
"Vampires also don't typically fuck their food."
He stared at me with those disconcerting yellow eyes. I squirmed uncomfortably.
"Okay, well vampires don't typically fuck their food and leave survivors, better?" I refined my statement.
"Your language has gotten worse," he scolded.
"Do you really want to get sidetracked by my potty mouth? The baby's yours," I snapped. "And your eyes are suddenly like Carlisle's. There are more important explanations to be given than my sudden fucking lack of vocabulary."
"Watch your tone," he warned. His voice sent a chill down my spine. I'd stepped over the line.
"I'm not exactly your slave anymore," I asserted. It occurred to me, on a somewhat subconscious level, that the only way that Edward was going to punish me was if I let him.
He stared at me again. I was either making headway or heading for a night tied up in some uncomfortable position. I figured I'd risk it.
"Do you really think so little of Jacob and the pack that they'd run one of their own off the reservation, particularly a pregnant woman?" I shuddered, remembering the events of the previous night. I'd trusted Jacob my whole life, loved him, and he was going to … I shoved the thought back. I couldn't even think about it. It was too late, tears stung my eyes.
Edward didn't answer me. I rolled over and looked at the side of the tent, hiding and not hiding the fact that I was crying.
"We have company on the way, get dressed," he sighed, unzipping the tent. A cold gust of air blew across my back, which I hadn't noticed was still naked. He'd tucked me into the sleeping bag without any clothing. I'd been so caught up arguing with him that I didn't feel it. Edward was very good at forcing me to focus on him and only him.
I slid out of the bag and found my clothes piled nearby. I slid them on quickly before unzipping the tent and going outside. I was shocked by my surroundings. We were in the mountains. It was cold, I could see my breath. Edward shrugged out of his coat and handed it to me. I shoved my arms in and pulled it around me. It smelled like him.
"Who's coming?" I asked.
"My family," he growled.
Why was he upset that his family was coming? I had obviously missed something. Edward always seemed to have a strained relationship with Carlisle, the only member of the family I'd ever really seen him interact with, but Alice and Jasper didn't seem to have a problem with him. They'd been at the border that time, preventing him… preventing him from getting to me. Was he not supposed to find me?
I could fix this; he was merely saving me from a pack of murderous wolves. I would have to talk to them, make them see…
I saw swift movement in the forest below us before they appeared. Rosalie was first. She ran ahead of the rest of them, rage contorting her face. She was followed closely by Emmett, who seemed to be paying more attention to her than Edward or me. He caught her around the waist just as she reached out to grasp Edward. Edward had merely been watching her approach as one uninvolved in the situation. I felt that he was foolish to underestimate her; she seemed fierce. Jasper was two steps behind them, concentrating on something.
"Let me go!" she screamed and thrashed against Emmett's grip.
"No," Jasper asserted calmly.
"Stop that, I don't want to calm down. I don't need to…" She suddenly stopped fighting. "Bastard."
"Cutting things a bit close, brother," Edward stated.
"Don't," Emmett hissed. Rosalie squirmed a bit and then settled down again. "Don't call me brother."
Alice, Carlisle, and Esme quickly took positions behind the other three. Their posture was deceptively casual. They only seemed like they weren't looking for a fight. Esme was even standing on the balls of her feet, ready to pounce, and she didn't seem like the type. I fought the urge to step back away from them.
"Bella, come here," Carlisle beckoned.
"No, I'm fine," I squeaked, forcing myself to take a step closer to them. I inched my way over to him and slid my arm around his waist. He pulled me behind him.
"She doesn't want to go," Edward laughed.
"You don't have the Volturi behind you this time," Emmett commented. "We plan on protecting her."
"No," Edward growled in earnest. I could feel it through his back. The low rumbling started in his midsection and moved out to envelop his whole body.
"She has options, now. You don't really think she'll stay." Rosalie folded her arms, brushing her mate aside in the process.
"Your misguided attempt at assistance is appreciated but entirely unwarranted. Leave."
"Edward," I whispered. Talking out of turn was a risky move, but I needed Carlisle.
Edward tensed.
"Edward, in light of the current situation, I think we need Carlisle. I need Carlisle," I whispered into his back, gently brushing my fingers from his shoulders to his waist. "Can I talk to them?"
Rosalie snorted derisively.
Edward growled.
Alice or Esme tsked. I wasn't familiar enough with either of them to discern which one made the noise.
Something passed between the others and Edward. He relaxed.
"Bella?" Jasper addressed me. "Will you come out from behind Edward?"
Edward's grip loosened, and I stepped around him. His arms instantly wrapped back around me, like someone was going to snatch me away.
I was facing six vampires. It was slightly intimidating.
"Um… we… uh… We have a situation," I stuttered.
Carlisle raised an eyebrow, but the rest stood stone-still.
"I'm pregnant," I blurted out.
"Pregnant?" Carlisle was the first to react.
"Um, yes?"
"A wolf pup would certainly explain why I can't see her clearly," Alice sighed.
"Well, then we need to get you back to LaPush," Esme said. She looked like she wanted to congratulate me. She didn't understand.
"The pack ran me off the reservation last night," I said. This was met with many puzzled looks. "It's um… not a wolf cub."
"Not a…" Alice blinked rapidly.
"What do you mean?" Jasper squinted.
"No way!" Alice clamped her hand over her mouth. I glanced at Rosalie, who had been so nice to me before; she was livid.
"Bella," Carlisle held up his hand to stop the others. "Are you insinuating that the baby is Edward's?"
"It would have to be," I laughed weakly. No one other than the pack seemed to want to believe that fact. "Pregnancies among those who aren't imprints with babies from members of the pack are uncommon, and pregnancies in the pack progress normally. This is most definitely not normal. I can feel the baby moving."
I blinked and Edward was crouched between me and his family.
Carlisle sighed. "I can't do anything here, Edward. I need to take her back to the house."
"Edward comes with me," I demanded. I could tell that no one expected that reaction from me. I needed him, but I also needed some answers, answers I wasn't likely to get from anyone other than Carlisle.
"That's acceptable," Carlisle agreed, but Edward didn't move.
Edward had progressed to snarling. "No."
"Edward." I reached out and touched his shoulder. "I'm going to need medical attention unless you intend to do this the old-fashioned way…"
"Fine, we'll go but you don't leave my sight,' he grunted.
"Okay," I agreed.
"We need to get moving," Alice said quietly. "You weren't exactly careful about covering your tracks last night."
"There's danger?" I asked Edward, because even though I knew that he was unlikely to answer he was the one I was most comfortable asking.
"There's always danger with Edward," Emmett laughed bitterly, and I jumped. He'd moved closer while I was focused on Edward.
Edward caught me before I could fall over. He shot a death glare at his brother. Edward ran a hand over my hair. "You're alright."
I couldn't tell if he was asking me or telling me. I nodded anyway.
"The pack?" I couldn't think of anyone else who would be after us.
"No," Edward said, but didn't offer any further explanation. I tried to think of other enemies we could have.
"Who - ?"
"We need to go," Alice interrupted me.
"Edward, the house really is the easiest place to defend…" Jasper began to explain halfheartedly. It sounded as if he wanted to say something else.
"On my back," he sighed quietly. I jumped as he pulled me up onto his back. I wrapped my arms around his neck tightly, and Edward gripped my legs.
He started running before I was ready. I tucked my head down behind his shoulder so that I couldn't see the blurry green and brown of the trees as we passed them. It took mere minutes to arrive at the Cullen house, even though driving would have taken over an hour. The vampires made a bee-line through the forest. Near the end of the trip Edward leapt into the air. I made the mistake of looking, only to find that he was bounding over a river. He stopped suddenly.
"Down," he said softly. My feet touched the wood floor of the deck. I swayed slightly as I released my grip on his neck. He turned to steady me with his hands on my hips. I felt sick. My stomach was suddenly completely unsettled. I turned and dry heaved over the deck railing.
"Esme!" Edward called. He was still holding me upright.
I coughed and sputtered a few times before my stomach gave up on emptying itself. There was nothing there anyway. I'd missed dinner the night before because of the drama with the pack, and then reuniting with Edward. Realistically, I wasn't going to stop that reunion for food.
"Oh, Bella." Esme was at my side, trying to steer me away from Edward. He growled at her and she released me as if burnt. "I was only going to take her to the bathroom, and you know it," she scolded him.
"I'm staying with her," he grunted. "I called you because she apparently hasn't been eating."
"I just missed dinner last night," I explained.
He glared at me, with those strange eyes again, for speaking out of turn, and I glared back.
"I'm not your slave." If I asserted the point enough, maybe he'd believe it.
His lips fought a smile. I wondered what that was about. We'd yet to successfully navigate any part of our discussion from earlier. It needed to be settled. I would need protection, but things couldn't be as they were before. I couldn't trust him, not in that way, not after…
"Not anymore," I corrected.
I forgot that he could read my emotions just by looking at my eyes. He was petting my hair again. It was like he knew exactly what I was thinking.
"I don't plan on apologizing for anything, you need to understand that," he didn't bother to whisper. I realized that whispering made no sense. The others would hear everything anyway.
"Understood." I hadn't expected him to apologize, anyway. Part of me did want some answers but I doubted that I'd ever get them, at least not from him.
"Do you think you could eat some soup?" Esme volunteered, intentionally interrupting our conversation. "It's the only thing I remember how to cook."
"Um, I just…" How did one explain to a vampire that discussing food just after vomiting wasn't exactly a good idea. I looked at the railing I'd recently leaned over and hoped that she'd take the hint.
"Sprite or Ginger ale," Edward saved me. "She needs something to settle her stomach first. Sugar, no caffeine."
Oh shit, he was going to watch my caffeine intake. I briefly considered running for Florida. I didn't stand a chance at making it past the stairs.
"You're not leaving again." Edward's hand appeared around my arm. I must have been a bit too obvious in looking for an escape route. I could only imagine that he was going to be controlling.
"No, I'm not," I confirmed.
"Good."
I looked up and caught Esme staring at us, soda magically in hand.
"Here," she said quietly and passed me the glass. I took it carefully and sipped the overly sweet carbonated beverage. I pulled a face.
"You need the sugar, drink." Edward tipped the end of the glass up just a bit, forcing me to drink more than I'd intended. He allowed me to stop just as I needed to take a breath.
"What? Can you not even let her hold her own glass?" Rosalie snapped from the doorway.
"It's none of your concern," Edward said, eerily calm.
Rosalie huffed, and flung her hair over her shoulder as she walked away. I'd never really seen anyone do that. I wondered if she was a foot-stomper too.
I looked to Edward for an explanation, and received none.
"Drink," he ordered.
I complied. The carbonated beverage was actually helping me feel a bit better. I finished it in silence, passed the glass to Esme, and allowed Edward to steer me into the house. He guided me around with a hand gently resting on the small of my back. He was tense, I could feel it radiating off of him from everywhere but that hand. He was making me more than a little nervous.
Edward guided me up the stairs and to the right, into what I immediately recognized as Carlisle's office. It smelled like him. It only vaguely registered with me that I knew Carlisle's scent. The room also looked like him. The chair rail sat over blond wood paneling and below cream colored walls. Books of various vintages lined the shelves behind a massive desk, and paintings adorned one wall. My eyes darted between the artwork and the books, not knowing which to ogle first. I could have sworn that Carlisle himself appeared in no less than two pieces of art, but the books were calling to me as well. I wanted to run my finger along their spines, and see exactly what Carlisle had on his shelf.
A hand rested gently on my shoulder, Edward's. He guided me to a chair and indicated that I should sit. I took the proffered chair somewhat reluctantly. Edward stood behind me, his hand still resting on my shoulder.
"Alright," Carlisle said as he entered the room. "I want to run some blood work, see what your levels are like, and try to figure out what's going on here." He dropped some vials and a needle on the desk. I cringed involuntarily. He continued, ignoring my distress, "we don't have an ultrasound machine at home, but I'll make plans to acquire one. I think that it's best that we don't involve anyone from outside."
"You intend for us to stay here," Edward confirmed.
"It would be in Bella's best interest if you stayed, yes." Something passed between them. There was a slight twitch to Carlisle's normally perfect features, and Edward tensed behind me.
"Fine," Edward spat and turned to leave. "But I'll be downstairs running over our tactical options with Jasper."
The door slammed violently behind him.
I cringed. Edward's behavior was becoming somewhat erratic.
"What's going on here, Carlisle?" I whispered.
"It seems that my son has bitten off more than he can chew. In attempting to solve what he thought was a problem, he's created several more, some of which may have dire consequences," he explained calmly from behind his steepled fingers.
"What kind of problems are we talking about?" I asked, still keeping my voice down.
"He can still hear us, you know. This is merely to give you the illusion of privacy since we can't really provide it, so I can't tell you."
"Because Edward would disapprove?"
"That is part of my reasoning. In addition, not knowing exactly what your current state is just yet, I don't want to cause you any undue stress."
I laughed, "Undue stress? Like this whole situation hasn't been one long episode of undue stress."
"I'm sorry," he sighed. "Sometimes when one tries to change the future, he manages to create something much more complicated."
"Edward tried to change the future?" I asked, sensing an 'in.'
"Enough of that," Carlisle shut down. "How are your symptoms?"
"Really? You're not going to give me any answers?"
Carlisle stared at me calmly in response.
"Fine," I huffed. " I am craving red meat. My sense of smell is suddenly really strong. My stomach is hard and larger than usual. I can feel the baby moving. I'm nauseous, and for some reason I can heal really fast. Oh, and sometimes I get heartburn."
"Do you mind if I go ahead and draw your blood?" Carlisle opened the plastic encased needle, and an alcohol swab.
"Yeah." I closed my eyes and proffered my arm. I tried to ignore the pinch of the needle and the slight smell of blood that entered the room. It was faint but nauseating.
"Almost done," Carlisle said soothingly as he switched vials. "I'm going to run a DNA test on you in addition to hormone levels, do you mind? Some of your symptoms, like the healing, aren't consistent with pregnancy."
"Fine," I sighed, not wanting to talk with the needle in my arm.
"Done," Carlisle announced, removing the offending needle.
I opened my eyes and watched my skin seal up. I looked up to find Carlisle watching as well.
"Freaky, huh?"
"It's definitely out of the ordinary."
I nodded.
"We need to talk about the baby. I understand that you're a bit further along than would be expected. I need to know what your intentions are." Carlisle was looking at me with his serious doctor stare, like he was trying to convey something really important. "I don't know what the result of this pregnancy will be if the baby is half vampire. I can't make any guarantees about your health and safety. It's also possible that this child could be a problem."
"A problem, how?" My hands settled protectively over my stomach.
"It most likely won't be normal, and I don't know what to expect. Vampires who are turned as children tend to be ruthless and violent. They never learn to control their bloodlust. If this child is a threat, then it will have to be dealt with…"
"You mean killed." My blood ran cold and the baby squirmed against my hands. I could feel tears forming behind my eyes again and couldn't fathom why.
Carlisle nodded. "We can continue the pregnancy, take the risk, and see where it goes, or we can terminate it and ensure that you survive."
"No!" I replied a little more vehemently than I intended. "The baby stays."
"Okay," Carlisle agreed grimly. "We'll be able to discuss your hormone levels tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm prescribing rest, plenty of fluids, a meal, and a warm bath."
Carlisle moved to leave, I grabbed his hand.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing, Bella," he smiled. I released him but remained in the office for a few moments after he left. Eventually, I rose from the chair and went looking for the kitchen. I wondered if the Cullens kept food in the house. I supposed that I was about to find out
End Note:
READ ME!
This story has and always will be unapologetically what it is. I feel that you've all been warned sufficiently from the beginning, and you don't need to be coddled and protected.
I am going to say again that EnPointe readers are the best in the fandom. You are the most supportive and adventurous people I know. Thanks for sticking around.
New readers, welcome, I hope that you're enjoying the story.
The outtake I wrote for yellowglue's birthday is just that, an outtake – as in not part of the story. Why? Well, if you really think about it, Bella is just messed up enough to not hold the whole, "you nearly killed me" thing against Jacob. She'd be pissed at Edward, and Edward wouldn't get why… it's just too messy. So, unfortunately, Jake is still among the living. For the moment, he's more useful alive than dead.
I'm on twitter for incredibly brief periods of time as GingerWombatkat.
I have a blog, I plan on using it sometime soon. So far the only thing on there is my response to fandom drama in which I revealed way more about myself than I intended. Gingerenpointe(dot)blogspot(dot)com