Chapter Fourteen: Feels Good to be Alive
Bella's POV
"Jasper?" I heard Alice ask from the hallway. "Jasper!" She called again and I could hear the anxiety in her voice.
"What's up?" Jasper asked, turing towards us.
"My water just broke." She said, her voice shaking. "I think...I think we gotta go to the hospital now."
"Oh..." Jasper was panicking. "Wow." He said, standing up and grabbing her coat to help her get into it. "Alice?"
"What?" She cried and I was kind of unsure why she was so upset all of a sudden. She'd been waiting for the moment for a lot longer than nine months.
"We're having a baby." He reminded her. After he gave us a smile, they turned to leave and the rest of us started to laugh.
"Best Thanksgiving...ever." Ava laughed.
Because it was the first time we'd seen everyone since moving to Chicago, we didn't want to rush through dinner. But, I knew everyone was just too excited to take their time and we knew we had a few days to be together. So, once we were finished with dinner, Esme and my Mom offered to do the dishes so we could get to Alice. I was beyond grateful for them, especially when they said they'd stay with Ava and Paige.
We all piled into Edward's car and we headed to the hospital. We got her room number and made our way up to Labor and Delivery and practically barged into her room. When we got there, Jasper told us that she was a four centimeters before disappearing. Rosalie and I went to sit by her side and I grabbed her hand.
"It hurts." She wined.
"Soon, Alice." I promised as Edward and Emmett disappeared somewhere. "How's Jasper doing?"
"He's going into panic mode." She managed to smile. "He threw up once we got here."
"Emmett puked on the way to the hospital." Rose laughed, sitting in the chair on the other side. "You guys are so ready for this."
"Yeah," She nodded, but I could tell how unsure she still was.
"Alice, you're amazing with my girls and Hunter." I reminded her. "And, I know it's different when you have your own kids, but you're going to be a great mom."
"You really think?" She asked.
"Absolutely." Rose squeezed her hand. "You're a great Mom to our kids already. Now, it's finally your turn."
"I'm having a baby." She smiled. "I'm going to have a son in a few hours."
"You still keeping that name a secret?" I asked and she nodded as the boys came back into the room.
The rest of the night, the four of us spent most of the time in the waiting room. We wanted to be there for her, but we knew that her and Jasper had to do this for themselves. So, we played games on our phones, dozed off on our husbands shoulders, and did anything we could to keep ourselves busy. Once it hit the eleven hour mark, though I was starting to feel bad for her. It'd been a long labor for Ava and Paige, but I knew how hard this was on her.
Alice didn't do well with pain at all and cried when she stubbed her toe sometimes.
But, at seven forty-five, twelve hours after she went into labor, Jasper cam through the doors.
"He's here." He sighed tiredly and I nearly burst into tears. Alice and Jasper were finally parents, and mixed with the exhaustion, it was enough to make me cry.
"How's Alice?" Emmett asked after giving his friend a hug.
"Exhausted." He smiled. "But, she's doing well. They're cleaning him up now and once she's had a little bit of time to recover, you can come see him."
"Congratulations." I whispered as I gave Jasper a big hug. After he disappeared again, we headed to the cafeteria to get something to eat before Jasper texted us, telling us it was okay to come back. When we walked into the room, the baby boy was safely in Alice's arm, wrapped in blue.
"He's beautiful." I gushed as I stared down at him. Seeing him made me miss how small Paige and Ava were.
"Now can we know his name?" Rose asked impatiently. Alice looked up at Jasper and smiled, telling him it was okay to tell us.
"His name is Ryan." He told us. "Ryan Brandon Whitlock."
"Perfect." I assured her, leaning down and giving Ryan a kiss on the top of his head.
"If you guys wash your hands, you can hold him." She yawned.
"Where are your parents, Jazz?" Edward asked as I made my way to the sink.
"They told me they couldn't spend all night in the hospital." He whispered. "They should be here soon." If my parents had waited at home when I was in labor, I would have killed them. Even when Edward was there with me, I would have killed them if they stayed home.
We all took our turns holding the brand new baby and when I looked down at him, I was in awe. He was so small and cute and he made me really miss having a baby this small. I loved Paige and how independent she was getting, but there was something special about having a newborn. When I looked over at Edward who was holding him, I could tell he was thinking the same thing.
"Knock, knock." I heard a familiar voice whisper as the door opened. When I turned around, Jasper's parents were standing in the doorway and his mom put her hand over her mouth as she looked at her first grandchild.
"Mom, Dad." Jasper smiled, grabbing Ryan from Rose's arms. "Meet Ryan. Your grandson."
"He's beautiful." Becky gushed. "Oh, he's so beautiful."
"We'll come back later." I told Alice as I leaned down to give her a hug. "Don't forget to rest while he's sleeping."
"I know," She cried. "Now I get why you were always so damn emotional."
"I told you I wasn't crazy." I gently nudged. The four of us left them alone and we drove Emmett and Rosalie back to their house. When we got home, Mom was in the kitchen feeding Paige and Dad was with Ava watching TV while she read.
"So?" Mom asked as I took Paige out of her high chair.
"They had a healthy, baby boy." I smiled. "They named him Ryan Brandon."
"What a perfect way to incorporate her maiden name." Mom said as she went back to cleaning up the dishes from breakfast. "Why don't you two go take a rest and then we can all go over and see him. I know Ava has been dying to meet him."
"Good idea." I yawned, handing Paige back to my Mom.
Four days after Ryan was born, we were decorating their living room for his welcome home party. Alice and I had done it with Rosalie, and they'd both done it for me so it was only fitting Ryan got a proper hello. Ava was over the moon excited to have a little baby around again and kept telling Alice that'd she would babysit him for extra cash. It really was incredible watching Alice with her own baby after all of these years.
The three of us were all officially grownups.
"They're here!" Emmett smiled as he walked away from the door. Everyone gathered near the door and it was hard to keep them all quiet when we heard the keys in the lock. When the door swung open, everyone yelled welcome home and Alice burst into tears. She gave the carrier to Jasper and ran into the downstairs bathroom.
"She's emotional today." He laughed, putting the carrier on the couch and picking Ryan up out of it. "Welcome home, buddy." He whispered, kissing the top of his head.
"I'm gonna go check on her." I told everyone as the people who hadn't come to the hospital crowded Jasper to get a look at the baby. I gently knocked on the bathroom door and I heard the click telling me it was okay to go inside. I opened the door and bit my lip to keep from laughing when I saw her sitting on the toilet.
"I...didn't think..." She sobbed. "It'd...be...this bad..."
"It's okay, Alice." I smiled, reaching for the toilet paper and ripping a piece off for her. "Everyone reacts differently."
"Rose...didn't...cry...at all..." She cried, wiping her face with the toilet paper I'd given her. "And...you just got...a little...teary."
"Alice, a lot has happened to your body the last few days." I reminded her, kneeling in front o her and rubbing her arm comfortingly. "And your exhausted."
"I haven't stopped...crying." She told me, looking up at me with her puffy, red eyes. "Every time they took him to the nursery, I started crying." She was calming down.
"I didn't realize you'd be so upset or I would have give you a little bit of a warning." I apologized as she stood up and grabbed another piece of toilet paper.
"It's okay." She sniffed. "No one knew this was going to happen."
"I can tell everyone to go." I said softly as she splashed some cold water on her face.
"That'd probably be best." She nodded as I turned the doorknob. "I'm gonna be upstairs."
"Okay, everything's all ready up there." I assured her as she turned towards the stairs and I went to the living room. When I told Jasper what was going on with her, he was the one to kick everyone out. I apologized and told them they'd have plenty of time to spend with her and Ryan when she wasn't so emotional. Jasper handed Ryan to Edward so he could go check on Alice once everyone had left.
I knew that Edward loved Paige and with his entire heart, but when I looked at him with Ryan, I could tell he wanted a son. I mean, it was kind of every mans dream to have a son to teach to play sports and how to flirt with girls. Yeah, he could do all of that with Paige and was teaching Ava how to play soccer, but I knew having a son would be special. I knew we were still far away from having another kid, but I liked the thought of finally having a boy.
After a few minutes, Alice finally came back downstairs and took Ryan from Edward's hand. When the house was cleaned up, we headed to the airport so Emmett and Rosalie could catch their flight. Since Alice had gone in to labor, they had extended their trip, but they had responsibilities in Seattle and eventually had to leave.
"Wanna stop by my parents house?" Edward asked after we'd dropped them off. Paige was sound asleep in the backseat and Ava was spending some more time with my parents since they were here until Saturday. I knew how much Paige brightened Carlisle's day so I was more than willing to go for a little while.
But, when we pulled onto their street, there was an ambulance in front of their house.
"What the..." Edward trailed off, unbuckling his seatbelt and running towards the house. I got out of the car and pulled Paige out of her carseat before rushing into the house. I heard thumping upstairs but figured with the EMTs along with Esme and Edward, it was a pretty full house up there. So, I stood near the steps, rocking Paige back and forth, waiting for them to come downstairs.
After what seemed like an eternity, the EMTs came down with Carlisle on a gurney with an oxygen mask over his face. Esme followed right behind and just gave me a look of total defeat. They hurriedly ran Carlisle out to the ambulance and closed the doors before Edward had even gotten to the top of the steps. I watched as the ambulance drove away, the sirens piercing through the night.
"He was taking a nap." Edward's quiet voice said as he walked down the steps. "He woke up...unable to breathe so Mom called 911."
"Edward," I cried, wrapping one arm around his neck while keeping my hold on Paige. Last time he couldn't breathe, they found out the cancer had spread to his lungs. This meant that it was only spreading more, despite the chemotherapy treatment.
"Mom told me she'd call me with updates, but she wants me to go home with you guys." He sniffed, pulling back and reaching for Paige. He walked her out to the car without a word and buckled her into her seat. I got in the front seat and we drove home in silence. When we got home, he carried Paige upstairs and closed the bathroom door without grabbing me to help with her bath. Ava was sitting with her grandparents, watching TV when I walked into the living room and the sight made me want to cry.
Paige would never get to do this with Carlisle and it killed me.
"Ava, can you give your grandparents and I a sec?" I asked gently, sitting down in the chair next to the couch. She nodded and got up without hesitation and gave me a tight hug on the way out. She was smart. She knew something was wrong.
"Bells?" Mom asked as tears started streaming down her cheeks.
"Paige is never going to know Carlisle." I cried, moving to sit in between them. "And, I love you Dad and you're a great grandfather, but...Ava never got that chance to know Billy. I really wanted Paige to have that opportunity and now she never will."
"Bella, what happened?" Dad asked as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders.
"We were going to say hi to Edward's parents, and when we got there, the EMTs were there." I explained. "They took him to the hospital because when he woke up from a nap, he couldn't breathe."
"Oh, no." Mom whispered.
"And Edward's been saying this for months, but it hit me tonight." I continued to cry. "It hit me that Paige won't know his other grandpa and...if we have another kid, Carlisle will never get the chance to meet him or her."
"Are you having another kid?" Of course that's what my Dad took from all of this.
"Not anytime soon." I rolled my eyes. "But, that isn't the point."
"Bella?" Edward asked from the doorway. I looked over and he was standing with Paige in her towel with his phone pressed to his ear.
"I got her." Dad grunted, standing up and taking Paige from Edward's grasp. He took her upstairs and I was really thankful my parents were here during all of this. Alice just had a baby and obviously couldn't play babysitter for my girls if something really serious were to happen. I sat with my Mom as Edward paced around in the kitchen, and I hated that all I could do was be patient.
Finally, he emerged from the kitchen and grabbed his keys, telling us he was going for a drive. I wanted to argue with him that he was overly emotional and should be driving, but I didn't. I knew he was dealing with this the best he could and he usually took a drive around the block when he needed space to clear his head.
I went upstairs and smiled when I saw Paige sitting in my Dad's lap in the rocking chair. He was quietly reading her a book and I could tell she was moments away from falling asleep. When I knew she had finally fallen asleep, I took her from my father's lap and gently laid her down in ht crib. I watched her sleeping and thanked God for the time Carlisle did have with her and for the joy that she brought him.
I just really wished I knew what was going on.
When I looked in at Ava, she had fallen asleep overtop of the covers with her book open on her chest. I did my best to quietly grab the book and turn the light off, but she was like me. The smallest thing woke her up and she opened her eyes as I was reaching for the lamp.
"Mom, what's going on?" She asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
"We went to go see Carlisle after taking Rose and Emmett to the airport." I explained, pushing the hair out of her face. "And he was being taken out in an ambulance because he could't breathe."
"Is he going to die?" She asked, fear in her eyes.
"I don't know, Ava." I couldn't lie to her. I couldn't give her false hope because I didn't know just how bad the situation was. "Try and get some sleep."
"It's still early." She argued.
"But you were passed out." I laughed, leaning over and giving her a kiss on the forehead. I left her room, closing the door behind her and headed to my room to take a shower. For some reason, I just felt dirty and I just wanted to feel clean again...even though I'd taken a shower this morning. But, before I could get in the shower my phone started ringing.
"Hello?" I asked when I answered my phone with an unknown caller on the ID
"Is this Mrs. Masen?" An unfamiliar voice asked on the other line and I sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Yes." I was starting to panic as I looked at the clock. Edward had been gone for over an hour. It never took him this long to take a drive and clear his head.
"I'm afraid there's been a small accident." She said and my breathing started picking up. "Your husband was brought to the hospital a little while ago."
My heart sunk.