EPOV
"Edward something's wrong with my baby!" I heard Bella exclaim partially hysterical.
"We need a nurse in here!" My dad yelled out the door. I grabbed Bella's hand.
"It's going to be okay. I promise. Just breathe." She sounded as if she was hyperventilating. "Bella Marie Cullen I need you to listen to me, right now the only thing you can do is calm down. I know you're scared. I'm scared too, but together we can do this. I'm sure of it." She nodded her head and closed her eyes tightly.
I could see her teeth grinding together expressing obvious pain and I wished there was something I could do. If I could take her place I would in a heartbeat. Just then a nurse came flying through the door.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"She appears to be having really strong and fast contractions." Carlisle answered.
"When did they start?"
"Only about five minutes ago." The nurse came over and lifted Bella's shirt to expose her round belly. She placed the stethoscope on it and listened.
"Well the baby's heartbeat is faster than normal. We need to get her into an exam room." She glanced around looking for something. "The only problem seems to be that all of the wheelchairs for this ward are on a different floor at the moment."
"I'll walk. I'm fine; it's just a little pain." Bella stated. We all looked at her and judging by her facial expression it was more than a little pain. When she began to stand up I stopped her.
"Bella sit down now!" A little surprised by my outburst she immediately sat back down in the chair. I picked her up out of it and into my arms. "Just tell me where to go."
The nurse left out the door and I followed. Bella had wrapped her arms around my neck; her grip was a bit harder than usual but I assumed it was in an attempt to relieve some pain. She had her face pressed into my chest and I could feel as tears began to soak through my shirt.
We finally proceeded into a room where I placed Bella on the bed. The nurse left but shortly returned with a hospital gown. She tossed it at me. "Quickly change her out of her clothes and into this. I'm going to get an obstetrician."
With that she left the room. My dad was starting to arrange the correct machinery around the bed. I turned to Bella who was still clutching her stomach. "Bells we have to get you changed." I told her as I began to lift off her shirt.
I put the gown on over her head. Then I removed her pants. What I saw next made me really nervous but I brushed it off and refocused on Bella, because a few doctors had arrived. I stepped out of the way and a nurse began an I.V. While she was doing that the obstetrician started listening to the baby's heartbeat. Another doctor was taking Bella's blood pressure and a team was setting up the ultrasound equipment. Soon the frantic pace of our little boy's heartbeat was loud enough for the entire room to hear.
"The baby appears to be in distress we need to stop these contractions quickly." Soon a medication was being pushed into the I.V.
"What's wrong with him? Is he going to be okay?" Bella asked nearly in tears once again. I took a seat beside her bed and kissed her forehead trying to calm her down. She whispered to me looking straight into my eyes. "Edward I don't want to lose him. I can't lose him.
I looked back at her with tears in my own eyes. "I know baby, I know."
"Her blood pressure is high and the baby's heartbeat is increasing." A doctor came over to me. "Sir we are going to need you to leave now."
"Absolutely not. She's my wife and that's my baby. I'm staying right here with her."
"I understand you are upset, but right now we need everyone besides the mother to leave the room. Right now there is nothing more you can do. We have to wait and see if the medications will take effect. Then we will be able to figure out exactly what is going on. In the meantime we need to run a few tests."
By this point she had ushered me outside of the room. "I promise sir we will do everything we can. Your wife is in good hands."
Carlisle grabbed my arms and pulled me out the door. "Edward give them space. I'm sure they will take good care of her. You're not doing any good in here. You are only stressing her out more. Think about the baby." I followed my dad outside but not really happy about it.
I faced the doctor, "Please just come and get me if she needs me. I promised I would be here for her."
"I will let you know as soon as we have an idea about what might be taking place." She went back into the room and shut the door. Carlisle and I were left in the silence of the hallway. I leaned back against the wall and ran my hands through my hair before letting out a deep breath.
"Son she's going to be fine." My dad had placed a hand on my shoulder but right now that did little to comfort me. We sat in silence for a bit longer before I worked up the courage to ask what I had been wondering since we entered the room.
"Dad are we going to lose this baby? After all that she's been through, is she having a miscarriage?"
"I can't say. It could be premature labor. It could be a complication. It could really be anything at this point."
"Dad there was blood."
"What do you mean there was blood?"
"When I was changing her into the hospital gown, I saw blood."
"Well being in her third trimester, bleeding is definitely not a good sign. But we still can't be sure. Normally by this point a mother won't have a miscarriage. Bella is beyond the safe point so it is unlikely but not impossible for her to lose it." It was quiet between us again. "Edward we just have to wait. Sorry I can't be of more assurance but right now there's no way to tell."
I slumped so that now I was sitting on the floor leaning against the wall. I pinched the bridge of my nose. I spoke looking down at the floor. "Dad if she loses him, she's going to be devastated. I'm going to be devastated, but I can't lose her. No matter what she has to come first."
I looked up at him still standing and he looked down at me. "She's strong Edward. If Elli and Mason can stand to show anything right now, it's that that baby in there is a fighter. Just stay strong. You will make it through this no matter what happens."
"Excuse me Mr. Cullen?" I quickly got on my feet and faced the nurse that had emerged from the room.
"Yeah that's me. Can I go back in?"
"Yes sir. I was just coming to get you."
"Thank you!" I pushed past her and into the room. I quickly took my spot on the chair next to Bella. "Bella I was so scared." I put my head down on the bed. She began to run her fingers through my hair which calmed me down at least a little.
"It's okay the baby and I are fine. They were able to stop the contractions."
"Excuse me Mr. and Mrs. Cullen it seems that you have an experienced placental abruption. The placenta has torn away from the uterine wall. However, because you were in the hospital when it occurred we were able to get to you quickly. Your case is very minor. It had only begun to tear away when we stopped your contractions so it was a very small tear."
Both Bella and I took a deep breath of relief. "So what does that mean for the baby? Is he going to be fine now?" I asked.
"Yes he appears to be doing fine. He is showing no signs of distress. Right now you should be fine to continue carrying full term as long as you remain on bed rest."
"No I can't do that. My daughter is going into surgery tomorrow morning. I have to be there for her." I clutched Bella's hand and Bella looked down at the bed.
The doctor continued, "I'm sorry but you don't have any choice. The slightest activity could cause the placenta to completely disconnect. If that were to happen we would have to immediately deliver. I understand that it's an inconvenience but staying as immobile as possible will give your baby the best chance for full development."
We all looked at Bella and she nodded in consent. The doctor put her chart back at the bottom of the bed and turned to Carlisle. "Well I'll be back to check on everything every so often, but would you be opposed to taking her under your care. Even though you don't work in this hospital everyone knows the famous Dr. Carlisle Cullen."
"Definitely I will look after her." The doctor then left the room.
I returned my attention to Bella. She was crying and when she spoke she was hysterical. "Edward I'm so sorry. I'm not mad at you. I know you would never hurt me. Please forgive me I'm so sorry!"
"No shh. Everything is fine. I'm not upset with you at all. I love you so much." I wiped the tears from her cheeks with my thumbs then leaned over and kissed her gently. "Just please promise me that you will take care of yourself and our baby from now on. I know Elli goes into surgery tomorrow but she will have the whole family to look after her. I need you to focus on the newest addition to our family right now, okay?"
I looked her directly in the eyes and she nodded. I kissed her mouth again. Bella looked away from me and looked at Carlisle. "Carlisle is there any possibility that I can see Elli before surgery?"
"Well I guess I could let you go in a wheelchair to see her. You can't get up but if you cooperate you can stay with the family during the surgery in the waiting room. But I swear to god Bella if you so much as move a muscle I will sedate you and bring you directly back into this room."
He looked at her so sternly that I almost had to laugh. "I promise I will be good."
"Okay. If you need to do anything you get someone to help you. Rose and Alice can do bathroom duty and any other things just talk to Edward Emmett or Jasper. I'm going to go and check with some staff to make sure I'm squared away to practice in this hospital." With that he left the room leaving me alone with Bella.
"Edward I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I would never try to endanger our child…"
"Bella I know. I promise you that I never thought you would. Maybe you should just try and get some sleep. I' sure you're exhausted." She yawned in response and I smiled.
"You're right. I should try to sleep at least for a little while." I brought he hand that I was still holding, up to my mouth and kissed it.
"I won't leave until you're asleep. Then I will go check on Elli and Mason." She smiled even though she kept her eyes closed. I sat and watched as Bella slowly drifted into a slumber.
I got up quietly and left the room checking once more to make sure she was out before leaving. I reached Elli's door and opened it to find my daughter in a peaceful sleep. I went and sat down beside the hospital bed. I leaned over and kissed her forehead.
I saw her eyes flutter and slowly open. "Daddy?" she whispered, sleep coating every bit of her voice. I hadn't realized how much time had passed but the clock read almost nine.
"Yeah it's me sweetie. I'm sorry I woke you up. You can go back to sleep." I pushed the hair from her forehead, and she looked over at me.
"Daddy?"
"Yeah sweetheart?"
"Will you way wif me?"
"Of course." I gently moved her over just a bit then laid down pulling her close to me. She rolled over and put her head on my chest. Her arm crossed over me and her hand clasped the collar of my shirt. I began to play with her hair like I did when she was a baby until she drifted back to sleep.
I figured I should probably call my mom at the hotel to check in on Mason. As unnoticeable as possible I extracted myself from Elli's grip and moved into the hall. I pulled out my phone and dialed Esme's room at the hotel. However, I didn't get an answer. Hmm…That's odd. I made my way down the hall. I was going to grab a water from the pop machine in the family room. Upon reaching that room I heard voices that were familiar and unexpected.
"Emmett keep your voice down the kids are asleep." That was unmistakably Rosalie.
I opened the door and they all turned to face me. Once they realized it was me and not a stranger my mom came running and gave me a hug. "Oh honey is everything okay?"
I hugged her back. "Yes right now Bella is asleep and so is Elli." I turned to Emmett and Jasper. "What are you guys doing here? I thought you weren't coming until tomorrow morning."
"Well Esme called once she found out Bella had been put into the hospital. I couldn't just sit at home while my baby sister was in the hospital. So we found a couple rooms at the hotel you are staying at. Jasper and I grabbed everyone, hopped in the car, and here we are. We've been here for like three hours and you haven't said anything. Carlisle wasn't even come to let us know what is going on." Emmett was almost screaming, obviously a bit scared about Bella.
"Emmett what did I say? There are kids in here sleeping. I know you're worried but if you wake up just one of them, I swear I'm going to kill you." Rosalie stated.
"Then tell Edward over here to tell me what the hell is going on with my sister."
"Emmett calm down and I will tell you all what is going on." I took a seat before starting. "Bella starting basically going into labor. She had high blood pressure and the contractions started due to her placenta trying to disconnect from the uterus. She has placental abruption which also caused some bleeding." I stopped because just recounting the day's events was making me nervous.
My mom gasped, "Oh honey she didn't lose the baby did she?" Everyone was silent and I was glad to be giving the news I was. It could have so easily had a different outcome.
"No she didn't." Everyone breathed in relief but I dropped my head into my hands and my tears began to form in my eyes.
"Mom it could have been so easy for her to lose him." She sat down next to me and patted my back.
"But she didn't Edward."
"I know but she was mad at me. That's why her blood pressure rose and that's what caused the abruption. It could have all been prevented but stupid me I didn't calm her down. I just told her she was being silly."
"Edward stop!" Alice came and kneeled before me looking at me in the eye. "You didn't cause this. I know Bella and she wouldn't want you to be blaming yourself. I'm sure you couldn't have prevented it. In fact be happy that you were there when it happened. Mom said that you had to carry her to the exam room. This is not your fault."
I just nodded because I knew she was right. "Is the baby okay?" Rosalie asked.
I wiped my eyes and replied, "Yeah he's fine. Everything is going good again. However, Bella is basically on bed rest until delivery so beware that she might not be the most pleasant to be around." I laughed at the thought that I actually have to keep her in one spot for a few months.
Rosalie and Alice laughed with me but my mom quickly stopped us. "Hey be nice. The poor dear is probably scared. Rose and Alice, you have never been put on bed rest and Edward never will be so you have no idea what it's like. Speaking from experience, bed rest is not the most fun."
"No offense Esme but from my experience Bella and being cooped up is not a fun occurrence for anyone." Emmett admitted shyly. Esme turned around and stared at him then stuck out her tongue making us all laugh once again.
"I understand mom. I know what you're saying."
"Well just as long as you are there for her. Try to be understanding honey, and not pushy. It will only make things worse."
"Thanks mom I'll do my best." Then we heard rustling in the corner where the kids were sleeping.
"Gamma I'm tirsty." Mason was the one that had woken up.
"Oh sweetie lets go get you something from the cafeteria then." My mom answered.
I got up before she did. "I got it mom."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah I want some time with him." I picked up Mason. "Hey little man what do you want?"
"Just some watah." He replied still tired.
"Alright let's go." Mason wrapped his arms around my neck and laid his head on my shoulder. "Guys I'm just going to get him something, then check in on Elli and Bella once again. We'll be back in a bit." With that I left the room hugging my son to my body, thinking hopefully from here I will get smooth sailing.