I have to give a big thanks to the girls that not only keep me sane, but gives me the confidence to actually post my work. They don't mind talking more through some pretty crazy plotlines even while it is after midnight! So Jen, Neha, and Chae, thank you so much! Jen and Chae don't mind reading my work and suggesting the changes that will help improve my story and I appreciate it greatly! I could never ask for better Beta's or friends for that matter!! Thank you girls!
If you haven't read liljenrocks stories please do so now, they are the best of the best!! I am the beta of Crazily-Addicted story Unforgettable so please show her some love as well! Admommy28 also has a chapter of Leah's POV from Second Chances so check it out!
Chapter 20
The Calm before the Storm
BPOV
I waited patiently for Quil to respond. I can't believe I never thought of it before. Who better to stand by my side on one of the most important days of my life? Quil had become my best friend and I wanted him too stand up for me.
The silence was deafening. I was beginning to think it was a bad idea to even expect him to consider it.
"Quil, its fine. You don't have to." I looked down trying to hide the tears that were in my eyes. Jacob squeezed my hand lightly trying to provide the only amount of comfort he could without drawing too much attention to ourselves.
"Bella," Quil whispered, as he made his way toward me. When I showed no sign of not only not answering him but even looking at him, he took the next step.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jake nod toward Quil and he let go of my hand. I didn't have time to experience the loss of warmth because mere seconds after Jake let go, Quil took both of my hands in his.
"Bella. Please look at me." I felt him lean in. He let go of one of my hands and cupped the side of my face. Ultimately, I decided not to look his way. Knowing if I met his eyes, I would begin to cry, there would be no holding back the tears.
"Bella, baby." He whispered and instinctively I looked directly at him. He started calling me that shortly after we became close while still in Florida. Without really meaning to, the tears began to flow from my eyes. He wiped them away and kissed my forehead. "Have I ever been able to tell you no, baby?" he smiled and I knew I had my answer.
He was right. Not once can I remember him telling me no. Throughout my whole ordeal, he had always been there. No matter what I needed he would get it, even if it was at 2 o'clock in the morning. In reality, he was the best friend anyone could ask for. He went above and beyond the bar and set out to be better then the best. I would be eternally grateful to him and couldn't think of anyway to repay him.
I smiled back and flung my arms around his neck. He held my body tightly to his and I cried silent tears of joy into his shoulder. As much as I tried to fight it, I couldn't hold it back any longer.
I loved this man. I loved Quil. Not in the same way I loved Jake, but in a way that I knew no matter what life would throw at us I would never lose Quil. Not entirely anyway. I was beginning to see just the way I could begin to repay him. Of course, I would have to talk to Jake but I knew it would work. I took great pleasure in knowing he would always be my best friend.
"Thank you so much, Quil." I wiped the last of my tears as he stepped back.
It wasn't until then that I had realized that everyone had born witness to such a sentimental moment. Much to my surprise, not one of the pack members made any type of rude comment or sly joke to either one of my guys the rest of the night.
The night was full of laughter, food and our family. This just so happened to be one of the most memorable nights of my life. While Jake's proposal had something to do with it, it wasn't everything. Much to my relief everything began to fall into place upon our arrival.
As we all sat around the table sharing stories of the past that one of us may have missed out on, I noticed Leah in the corner. She was seated on the floor next to EJ playing with his trucks. I also noticed that he had allowed her to play with the one that was his favorite, the one that Quil and Jake were never allowed to touch.
Leah must have noticed my focus was entirely on them because she shifted. I was expecting a smart ass comment or at least a scowl but the only thing I got in return was a smile. It was something I almost never saw on her face and couldn't help but smile back.
Embry quickly got my attention as he placed his hand on my stomach and gently patted. Jake's low growls immediately filled the air and Embry snapped his hand back almost as fast as he placed it there.
"Hey, now, I am not an animal at a petting zoo." I giggled trying to break the ice a bit. I wrapped my arm around Jake's and twined our fingers together. He still seemed a little tense.
"Sorry Bella, but I was just wondering." Embry paused and looked at Jake and back at me. I couldn't help but notice he had everyone at the tables' attention now too. "When does the baby move?" His was sincere and as interested as could be. I raised an eyebrow and Jake scowled. I noticed he had been doing that a lot to Embry lately.
I heard a few snickers and then Billy spoke up.
"Right after it finishes college, if they are lucky!" He pointedly stared at Jake as he chuckled along with the others.
"Ha Ha guys." Embry focused his attention back on me. "I'm serious, though. Studies have shown that babies move more to certain voices or to the feel of different touches to
the mother's stomach." Now he had everyone at the table in a complete daze. He dazzled us all with his knowledge.
"Well, Em, I am not sure because it isn't like I have all that many people touching my stomach." I laughed nervously.
"Well, do you mind?" He held out his hand and looked at Jake. I knew the question wasn't directed toward me. I only hoped that Jake would be kind to him. He muttered a few things I couldn't understand but Embry gently laid his hand on my stomach so I assumed he must have agreed.
After leaning in a little closer to me, he began to whisper something in the boys' native tongue. While I had no clue what he was saying all the rest of the people in the room did, all but Charlie, of course? The look on Charlie's face was priceless. I wasn't sure if he was more disturbed that Embry was touching his daughter or at the fact of Embry's knowledge of pregnancy. I am sure that would be strange to an outsider.
Whatever he was saying must have worked because I felt two small kicks followed by three more. The smile on Embry's face was priceless.
The pack was in complete awe, even more now then they were before. Of course, Embry's astounding discovery lead to the others wanting to take a feel, so to speak. One by one they each took their turn rubbing and talking to my belly. I was beginning to feel more and more uncomfortable and I think Jacob was beginning to sense that.
"Ok guys, that's enough." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me into a tight hug.
I looked up at him and kissed him softly. "Thanks." I whispered against his lips.
He just smiled in response and it made me feel as if all was right in the world.
"So, Embry, is it?" Charlie eyed Embry up and Em just nodded. "How is it exactly you know so much about pregnancy?" Leave it to the police officer in him to rear its ugly head. He took another swig of his beer and awaited his answer.
"Well, once I found out Bella was pregnant, I felt a strong desire to look into it as much as I could. I really have no experience with children so I wanted to make sure I was prepared in the least. I have come to learn an awful lot about it too." Embry's expression was as solemn as I had ever seen. He had impressed me with the knowledge he had already. I can only imagine what else it is that he knows. He may even be able to teach me a thing or two.
"What could you possibly know about babies? Other then how to make them?" Paul chuckled. Embry looked pretty pissed off actually. I wasn't expecting what happened next.
"Well, I will tell ya. Right now, Bella's baby is about 7 inches long and is covered in a soft downy substance known as lanugos." He began. All of us were focused on him but Paul was particularly intrigued. "Her eyebrows, eyelashes, fingernails and toenails have begun to form. She has increased muscle development and the alveoli are forming in her lungs. Not only that, but her heart is pumping up to 25 quarts a day. Her bones are beginning to harden and she can swallow now." At the end of his little rant most of the wolves' mouths were hanging open and eye widened in shock.
"A girl? Hmm?" Sam questioned as he looked at Jake and raised his brow. I immediately felt the need to clarify.
"Well, we don't know for sure yet. However, we have been taking bets on whether it is a boy or a girl."
"Really?" Sam's attention was still focused on Jacob. It was almost as if they were having a silent conversation amongst themselves.
"Yeah, I go to the doctor tomorrow for a sonogram so hopefully we will find out then."
Somewhere along the lines of the sonogram and lanugo talk, Billy and Charlie slipped out the front door. I guess it was just a little too much for them.
"Well Embry, I can honestly say, if I ever hear the words vagina or uterus come out of your mouth, I will officially be asking where your balls went." Paul make a face twisted in disgust.
"Well, I must say I find that very interesting." Sam spoke again and it was honestly pissing me off. He wasn't speaking to me or referring to me in any way. His attention was still focused on Jake.
There was one thing I knew I could use to break the sudden interest in each other. Maybe it was wrong of me but I didn't think about it until it was too late.
"Well I – we also have another announcement to make." I raised my voice a little to get everyone's attention.
"What could possibly be left to announce? You are getting married, you are knocked up. We get it! You are a happy couple, what next are you moving to Japan?" Paul chortled.
For the first time tonight, Sam made himself useful as he raised his hand and smacked Paul up side his head. I grinned in self satisfaction and looked around to find Leah.
"Leah?!" I bellowed. I looked around for her unsuccessfully.
The guys eyed me suspiciously as I stood and wandered around looking for Leah and my son.
"Leah."
"In here." She murmured softly. I followed her voice and I heard slightly silent whispers coming from the table I walked away from.
Once I turned the corner, I spotted her curled up on the couch with Ephraim snuggled tightly into her side. Leah honestly looked the happiest I have ever seen her. I had to remind myself to stand my grounds.
"Hey, I wanted to know if you were ready to tell the guys about the imprinting."
Her eyes lit up at the suggestion and she smiled a smile like no other. All she could do was nod her head.
We walked back into the kitchen side by side and was rewarded with many baffled stares.
"Well, guys, it isn't so much my announcement as it is Leah's." I turned and looked her in the eye, willing her to speak. She smiled yet again and began to speak.
"I imprinted." She announced.
There were many whistles and hoots through the boys. I couldn't help but notice that Sam looked a little more relieved then the others. As if the weight he had been carrying around all this time was lifted. Emily smiled at him before he stood and hugged Leah.
"Ok, I don't get it." Seth admitted. "How is Leah's imprinting related to you and Jake?"
I heard a gasp and then Jared spoke for he first time tonight.
"Wow, that was unexpected. So, Leah imprints on Jake, and then you guys are still getting married? Is that normal?" Sam once again raised his hand to smack a fellow pack mate.
"No! You half-wit!!" Leah screeched. "I imprinted on EJ!"
"Oh, for the love of all that's holy!" Paul groaned. "What are we all destined to be pedophiles?!"
I couldn't help but laugh at his conclusion of the matter at hand. I guess I could understand why he would see it that way. The rest of the guys and even Leah joined in on my laughter.
The remainder of the night passed by quickly, if I wasn't so tired, I would have been sad to see it go. After saying our goodbyes and hugging everyone from the pack, including Embry which was ecstatic when he got the same reaction from the baby as he placed his hand on my stomach, we headed out to the car. Leah insisted on carrying EJ out and making sure he was safely place in the car.
The car ride was pretty much silent. EJ was fast asleep while Jake and I were too tired to talk. I made plans with Quil and Leah to watch EJ while Jake took me to my appointment tomorrow.
Now, all I wanted to do is go to bed. I followed Jake into the house, as he led the way. I couldn't wait until we finally found our new place.
At this point in my pregnancy, I was eagerly waiting to get things ready for the baby. We still had to set up the nursery and move everything into the new place. That is, when we found it.
Jake changed EJ and tucked him into his bed before joining me in ours. He wrapped his arms around me and I could feel him breathing in the scent of my hair. I snuggled further back into his chest.
"I love you, Jake." I murmured. I felt his arms tighten around me even more.
"I love you too baby, always." He kissed my head. The last thing I remember was his soft voice whispering something in his native tongue and his hand on my belly. Soon after I drifted off into a long awaited slumber.
************************************************************************
"See that right there?" The technician pointed toward the fuzzy white imagine on the monitor screen. "That is the heart, this is the lungs and here is the spine."
Jacob squeezed my hand as he stared at the image. There are times that I have to remind myself that while I have experienced this before Jacob hasn't. This whole experience is new to him and I was happy I could see his reaction to it.
"Would you like to know the sex of your baby?" The technician asked as she moved the hand piece, pressing harder and softer on my belly. I looked at Jacob and we both smiled. I would love to know. When I was pregnant with EJ, he was never lying in the right position for us to know.
"Yes, of course." Jacob was elated.
"Alright, well you see that there." She pointed to the screen. We both nodded but I wasn't really sure what we were looking at and I didn't think Jake did either. "This is your daughter."
A smile spread across me face. A little girl, a little baby girl.
"And you are completely sure it is a girl?" Jake asked, ruining my moment. I just turned to him and scowled.
"What?" he shrugged. "I am just saying it would suck if we painted the nursery pink and then had a baby boy." He shrugged and the technician just giggled.
I raised an eyebrow and frowned at him. Who was he trying to kid? We didn't have a nursery to even paint.
"I am 100% sure." She giggled as she moved the hand piece again. She paused and pointed to the screen. "Here is a good shot….look."
Jacob squinted. "I have no clue what I am seeing. He admitted.
"That is her butt," she clarified, pointing back to the screen, "and these are her legs, almost as if she is sitting on the screen."
"I don't see anything." Jake mumbled. He was clearly getting aggravated that he couldn't tell what he was looking at.
"Exactly, that is how I know she is a girl." I giggled along with her this time. Jake's expression remained that of one that was perplexed and confused.
"Okay a few more measurements and you are free to go. We just have to make sure she is growing according to schedule."
The tech proceeded to move the hand piece again, hitting one button and then another.
"She seems to be growing right along schedule. The due date is still the same."
"So, she is growing ok, then?" Jake asked sounding a bit more relieved now.
"Seems to be." She moved the hand piece again and suddenly froze. Instead of pushing the button again she moved the hand piece around focusing on what looked to be a white line. She frowned slightly as she began moving the piece around even more frantically. She would pause more frequently the before. Something was wrong I could feel it.
"What are you doing?" Jake asked. He obviously noticed the change in her behavior as well.
She seemed lost in concentration but answer almost robotically. "Just checking on something."
Images of my little girl appeared on the screen from every different angle. I was getting even more worried by the minute. Jake was beginning to shuffle in his seat.
"Is everything okay?" I asked. Worry was evident on Jake's face and I was sure mine shown the same.
The tech drew in a long steady breath. "I see something that the doctor needs to take a look at."
"What does that mean exactly?" Jake was getting angry now and I am sure she could tell. We bother wanted answers and she wasn't giving us them. I was afraid. Something was wrong and she wouldn't tell us.
"Just hold on and I will get the doctor. He will be able to tell you more them I can. I will be right back." I felt the blood drain from my face as I watched her stand and walk out the door.
Jake leaned in and kissed me on the cheek before taking both of my hand in his and kissing each on lightly.
"What do you think is wrong?" I whispered as I looked into his eyes.
"I don't know, Bells." Jake's voice was shaky. "I am sure it is probably nothing."
"If nothing was wrong then she wouldn't be getting the doctor, Jake." My voice was shaky now.
"I know Bella, but it will be alright so just calm down. For our little girl." He smiled a half smile and rubbed circles in the back of my hand with his thumb before kissing it lightly again. "The baby's heartbeat was good. We found out it is a little girl, we are having a daughter and she is growing. She would have told us if something was wrong with the baby."
"She still seemed worried." Jake didn't respond this time and somewhere deep inside of me thought it was because he knew I was right. Even if he didn't want to admit it at the time, he knew something was wrong.
A few moments later the doctor and the tech walked back through the door. Forced smiles evident on both their faces. The tech resumed her place as the doctor stood next to her. She added more gel and placed the hand piece back onto my stomach.
"Can you see it?" The doctor leaned forward as did Jake. I just remained lying back, hoping this was all some kind of nightmare and that I would wake up soon. "Right there."
The doctor nodded and Jake squinted his eyes trying to focus. The doctor just nodded silently.
"Has it attached yet?" The tech moved the hand piece some more.
"When I was looking earlier, I hadn't noticed it attached anywhere."
"Alright, well, I can handle it from here. Thanks, Roberta" Roberta, so that was her name. I never would have guessed.
The doctor took over the hand piece. He leaned in and watched the screen but remained silent.
"What is it?" My voice cracked and tears were threatening to break free. "What are you looking for?"
The doctor moved the hand piece and displayed a fuzzy white line on the screen.
"Do you see that?" he pointed to the screen. "It is an amniotic band." He explained with a harsh unemotional voice and statue like face. "I was checking to see if it was attached to the baby. Usually when it does attach, it is to one of the extremities. The arms and legs and such. So far so good though." He sighed.
"What? I don't understand." Jake shook his head. "What do you mean attached? What can we do about it?"
"Okay, well the band is made up of the same fibrious material as the amnion - the sack that holds the baby. See right here." He ran a finger in a circular manner over the sack and the band. "As you see, one of the ends is attached to the sac, right there and the other is floating free. That end can attach to the fetus."
"That fetus is our daughter. Have some respect." Jake was clear and frank. I could feel the anger and anxiety rolling off his body.
"I know and I am sorry. I will be completely honest here. If this happens the odds of congenital abnormalities are increase greatly. I understand that this is hard to hear but that is why we took our time to examine the fetu- your daughter. We had to make sure the band hadn't attached to the baby."
Breathing was becoming more and more difficult by the minute. I could fell Jake's eye watching me form the corner of his own. I bit my lips to fight back the tears.
"Will it attach?" Jake asked. His voice was softer now but still full of emotion.
"There really is no way to know for sure right now. The band is just floating around and the baby is small now. As the baby grows the likelihood of it attaching increases, but the syndrome is rare. It also depends on where it attaches as well. It can be serious."
"How serious?" I shared a concerned look with Jake before turning back to look at the doctor. The doctor sighed deeply before responding.
"If it attaches to an extremity the baby could be born without a limb, or possibly a clubfoot or with syndactly, which is webbing of the fingers or toes. If it attaches elsewhere it can be a whole lot worse."
I could feel myself getting dizzy. I couldn't imagine anything worse then what he just described.
"What can we do?" Jake's voice was barely above a whisper. "What about Bella, how will this affect her?" That was honestly one thing I hadn't thought of. The possible harm to my own body.
"Bella will be fine. The syndrome has no effect on the mother. At least not physically anyway. As for what to do, there really isn't anything we can do. I will recommend a level 2 ultrasound which will produce a clearer picture. We will be looking to see if the band attached anywhere, but as I stated before it doesn't look like it did. After the initial test, we will continue with a series of ultra sounds. One probably every two to three weeks, but that is all we can do for now." He let out a long steady breath.
"How did this happen?" I croaked. I wondered what it could have been that I had done wrong to cause such an awful outcome.
"It wasn't something you had done or didn't do for that matter...So far it doesn't look like it attached I know I keep repeating myself but I want you to understand how important that is. So far everything is fine. Your baby is growing and is healthy. Her overall growth is right on track, her heartbeat is strong, and her brain is developing normally."
"You said it could get even worse it if attaches elsewhere." Jake met the doctors eyes and took a shaky breath.
The doctor shifted in his seat, suddenly even more uncomfortable then a minute before.
"Yes but it is very unlikely that it will though." He pointed out.
"How much worse?" Jake pressed on as he stared to stare the doctor down.
"If it attaches to the cord you could lose the baby." He spoke softly and steady.
I felt my stomach churn and the room began to spin. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. After all we had been though, why couldn't fate just cut us a break? Was it really that hard just to be safe and happy? Just when I thought we were in the clear my whole world was turned upside down. It didn't seem fair, no matter what happened I knew I couldn't lose this baby. I would do anything in my power to make sure she was safe. The only question is, what exactly would that entail?