Wow, I got an overwhelming amount of reviews! Thanks everyone, so much! I'm all done with school finally, so I'm going to be writing a lot more now! Plus I'm going down to the cape this week, so that means lots of writing!
Edward's POV
I watched carefully as Carlisle dunked a cloth in the water and ran it over her cuts. She winced every time and I stroked her hair lovingly. He stuck her with a needle and I looked at him confused.
"I need to get some fluid in her" he said as she winced
"What's the damage?" I asked, scared to find out
"Edward" he warned
"What's the damage?" I said a little more forcefully
"Bruises and cuts all over her body. A broken rib and arm, and she extremely dehydrated and malnourished" he finished
"The baby" I dry sobbed
"We won't know yet. I don't want to perform an ultrasound until she's up and taken care of"
He continued to wipe and clean all the blood off of her and I turned my head away. I couldn't look at her like this anymore. I turned my attention to the baby in my arms. I felt her forehead once more and sighed when I realized it was still warm. Carlisle saw the look on my face and smiled slightly.
"Go" he said "I got Bella in good hands"
I nodded and looked back at Bella. There was an unbelievable amount of gauze covering her cuts and Esme came through the kitchen, placing an ice pack on her arm. I made my way to our upstairs bathroom and pulled out the baby thermometer. Knowing she wasn't going to allow me stick it in her mouth, I placed it under her armpit and held her close so she couldn't fidget. It beeped after a minute and I took it out.
"Hold on baby girl" I whispered when she fussed
The thermometer read 101.3 and I frowned. I wasn't quite sure if that would be considered high for her. We haven't figured out what her normal temperature stays at. I laid her down on the changing table and pulled off her fleece pj's and changed her into a pink undershirt. I hoped that would keep her cool and maybe bring down her slight fever. As I stood looking at her my mind went back to Bella downstairs.
"Mommy's okay now" I told her "I know you missed her and…my god she missed you.
You have to help me out. She's going to be very weak and tired. So no crying in the middle of the night, okay?"
She looked up at me and let out a smile. I picked her up and walked back down the stairs. Bella was still sleeping and the rest of the family was leaning against the wall with their arms crossed.
"I gave her some morphine so she'll sleep better. Edward let me warn you and everyone that she'll be very disoriented and not really herself. Most people don't have to go through something like this. The best we can do is reassure her that everything is fine. I'll do a sonogram once she wakes up" Carlisle told me and then walked out of the room motioning for everyone to follow him.
I sat down on the floor by Bella's head placing Abigail against my chest hoping that I would cool her down. I surveyed Bella's body and noticed that her arm was wrapped in layers of gauze. Carefully without waking her up I lifted up the shirt she was wearing and
surveyed the damage that I feared most. What I saw almost made me cry-if that were possible. Her chest was wrapped in layers, mending her broken ribs that shouldn't be seen at all. The showing ribs indicated that she far to skinny in general, let alone when she was pregnant. I ran my finger lightly over her baby bump encountering a couple bruises doing so. Abigail's eyes were drooping so I laid her on the floor and through a thin blanket over her. I walked over to the light switch, flicking it off. Hoping that sleep was just what they needed to make a full recovery.
Esme's POV
Once Bella had fallen asleep Carlisle motioned for everyone to follow him out of the room and to the front porch. The rest of the kids were getting a little antsy with all the blood and went for a quick hunting trip. I still couldn't come to terms with this. Bella was my daughter and just thinking about what happened to her. I'm just thankful they got to her in time before… I didn't want to think about it. Carlisle wrapped his arms around my waist and I leaned back into him.
"What are you thinking?" he asked kissing the top of my head
"Bella" I stated simply
"She's in good hands" he promised
"I know and I can only imagine how Edward is doing with all of this. They're his whole life and he never shows it"
"He's always kept everything inside. Especially if he knows it will upset Bella in the slightest way"
"You never told me what happened. You had me quite worried too" I turned around to face him
"There isn't much to tell. Emmett and Jasper ran in the back to grab Bella but got tackled. Edward and I were upstairs with Aro and when he wasn't looking Edward ran down"
"So nothing happened to Aro?" I asked amazed they were able to get away
"Nothing but I'm sure this is not the last we hear of them" he sighed
"Is Bella really okay?" I asked changing the subject
"No…" he said
"Oh dear god" I cried covering my face with my hands
"Let me finish" he pleaded rubbing his hands up and down my arms
"She will be okay though"
"I just hope the baby is okay, I know he/she must have took quite a beating"
"Esme Edward and Emmett saw something" he said
"Saw?" I asked confused
"When they were down there and Caius was…"
"Ciaus, why was he there?"
He stopped and took a deep breath
"He had an infatuation with Bella, saying that they would raise the baby together or kill it. But Edward said that the baby has a gift"
He stopped and looked at me, I urged him to go on.
"The baby is a shield. No one could touch her when Bella became defenseless; the baby's instincts took over. But allowed Emmett and Edward inside, so the baby can tell bad from good"
"So the…" I was cut off by screaming and Edward yelling
"Carlisle"
Edward's POV
Once the lights were off I sat on the floor and laid my head down on the little bit of sofa that Bella's head wasn't lying on. I ran my fingers lightly over her arm that was lying along her body. I kissed the inside of her arm and closed my eyes. I prayed for a miracle that she would wake up and dance around the room. I smiled at the thought of that but quickly erased it when I looked at her sleeping face. I was vaguely aware of Esme and Carlisle's conversation about what went down in Italy but I didn't want to hear it again. I knew Esme didn't either but couldn't afford not to. I caught bits and pieces of what they were saying when I heard my name.
"Esme Edward and Emmett saw something" he said
"Saw?" I asked confused
"When they were down there and Caius was…"
I growled remembering what he did to her
He stopped and took a deep breath "Easy Edward"
"Edward said that the baby has a gift"
He stopped and I assumed he was giving Esme a chance to let it sink in.
"The baby is a shield. No one could touch her when Bella became defenseless; the baby's instincts took over. But allowed Emmett and Edward inside, so the baby can tell bad from good"
I smiled, out baby was special. I hope there would not be any sibling rivalry two of them. So far it was looking like Abigail had no special gift and that was completely fine with me. What happed next would have scared me to death if I were human? Bella groaned and sat upright having a full out panic attack. I wrapped my arms carefully around her while she thrashed and kicked.
"Carlisle" I yelled before turning back to her
"Bella stop it" I yelled "You're alright, you're safe, I'm right here" I begged hoping I could get through to her.
Esme and Carlisle ran in and Esme was quick to grab the still sleeping Abby- who was undisturbed from this- and ran upstairs.
"Carlisle she's not responding to me" I panicked
He walked over to her and placed his hands on her face, looking right in her eyes.
"Bella stop you're okay"
She continued to squirm and thrash. Carlisle sighed and pulled a needle out of the medical bag on the floor.
"What are you doing" I asked confused
"Giving her a sedative to calm her down, I don't want her to hurt herself more"
"But" I said a little reluctant at putting her back to sleep
"She'll be fine" he promised
The needle went into her arm and she relaxed immediately. I kissed her forehead and rested mine against hers closing my eyes.
"This is going to be a long recovery" I sighed
Please review this and I'll start typing on my way to the cape tomorrow!
LaurenXOXO