I own the plot :)
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Oh No! Not Now.
As we neared the house we noticed a commotion and Jake broke away from me and moved in front of me to shield me from whatever had gotten my family so worked up. I stuck my head around him and watched Momma come walking towards us with a frown marring her perfect forehead. Jake raised a thick eyebrow and asked "What's the matter Bels?" Momma pursed her lips and said "Alyssa had a vision, the Volturi are coming and they are coming to destroy us." I gasped as another pain gripped me but thankfully they both took it as a gasp of surprise over the Volturi's attack. Opening my mouth I asked "Momma where is Carlisle?" Momma jerked her head towards the house and I moved past both her and Jake, heading in the direction she had indicated moving slowly to try and dull the ache that kept sweeping through my lower back and the cramping that was pulling at my stomach. I made it almost to the front porch when I was stopped by Jasper and Emmett who were practising their fighting skills on the front lawn. I smiled through clenched teeth when Jazz stepped in front of me and placed a restraining hand on my shoulder, I frowned up into his golden eyes, shrugging off his hold, and asked "What's up?" Jazz cocked his head to the side and whispered "I'm not exactly sure; I am getting definitely mixed signals from you. I can feel your panic, and anxiety, along with fear and anger but there is one emotion I'm having trouble identifying." I raised an eyebrow but was saved from answering by a chuckling Emmett "Hey Jazz I bet that everyone is feeling at least one of those things, leave the poor kid alone. She looks wiped out." I smiled weakly, relieved that Emmett wasn't as attuned to emotions as Jasper was and even more relieved when Alice's voice called from the shade of a tree across the wide expanse of the front door. I gestured weakly towards her and said "Gotta go otherwise Alice will have my head." Both of my Uncles laughed openly before returning their concentration to their war games.
My gait slowed as another pain gripped my lower abdomen but I continued across the lengthening grass to Alice. As I reached her she gestured beside her to a chair I hadn't seen. "Sit. Something isn't right. He is having increasingly more time where he is feeling wrong and I think you need to take a little time off your feet." I cringed at the low lying chair and said "Alice, the Volturi are on their way here and you want me to relax and sit around waiting? There is no way I can do that. I need someone to teach me how to protect myself against a direct attack. If it was just me I wouldn't have a problem but it's me and the baby and I don't really know how to protect us." The annoyed voice of my father sounded from within the trees saying "There isn't anything to teach you, you will be heading to Forks to stay with the pack. We don't want you anywhere near the fight. Don't argue Renesmee, if it was just you than, even though I wouldn't want you there, I would have to get over it because you are an adult but I will not stand by and allow you to risk, not only your own health but that of my grandson, when you don't need to." I started shaking my head and stuttering my denials when Alyssa spoke from behind me "There isn't going to be any time to get her out of here. I see them arriving within the hour and I mean every one of the guard who weren't destroyed. They are all coming; and your wolves, they're coming too, will arrive in about ten minutes. I suggest we surround Renesmee with as much muscle as we can considering how much we're gonna need. If we put her and Haylee along with Esme and Alice in the basement we can guarantee that there is only one way in and that if they try to get in they will be faced with two vampires and at least one of them will be able to see them coming."
I shuddered at the thought of leaving my family and going to hide but I knew that if I was to remain on the front line than I would put them in more danger than if I was in the basement safely hidden. I dragged in a deep cleansing breath through my nose and tried to ignore the grip of unease that had tightened its hold on my stomach. I heard Seth approach our little group and I turned towards him and smiled welcomingly at Haylee, who stood looking like a scared little rabbit beside him. It was as I registered her fear that I realised how odd our family actually was, most people fled from danger but not us, nope we prepared to face it head on. I shifted on the spot, trying to rearrange my cumbersome weight, listening attentively to the plans everyone was making for the coming battle. The plan was to come at them strongly before they had the chance to get used to their surroundings, this was our home after all and that gave us the upper hand; we knew the land and we knew how to use it to our best advantage. I moved again, getting increasingly more uncomfortable, and had to dodge the questing hand that Momma had thrown out. Unfortunately, as with most pregnant people they don't move as quickly, Momma's hand grazed my bare shoulder. I heard her gasp as she realised that I wasn't merely uncomfortable, I was in labour and it wasn't really the best time. I touched a hand to her and asked her to relax and not say anything because I didn't want to worry anyone, especially if it turned out it was false labour. She nodded but I could see the frown creasing her forehead. She wasn't happy but then again neither was I.
We stood planning for ten minutes (well everyone else stood I was forced, thankfully, into the lawn chair by Alice) when we all noticed the sound of an approaching vehicle so we weren't really surprised when a large green VW bus drove along the private road to our house and I relaxed a little more as Alyssa's premonition proved true, our family had arrived to help. Sam was driving, something that I found odd because he rarely left Emily or the kids behind, and beside him in the passenger seat sat Brady. I couldn't see the rest of the passengers so I was shocked when the door slid noisily along the side of the van and Emily filed out along with a half dozen giant men. I sat gaping at Emily as she hurried across the yard, I struggled out of my seat and welcomed her as she threw her arms around me and hugged me close. I returned the hug awkwardly due to the fact that both our bellies met before the rest of our bodies. I had all but given up on trying to hide anything through my gift so I wasn't surprised when she pulled away and sighed wearily but before she could speak I heard a hissed expletive from Jacob as he returned from wherever he had gone with my mother "What the hell were you thinking Sam?" he growled. Sam shrugged his shoulders and said "I tried, you're quite welcome to try and persuade her if you like but I have to warn you she will win." I heard Emily grit her teeth as she huffed "I am a grown woman Jacob Black and you'd do well to remember that. I am here because I know what it is like to have to sit and wait for your husband to return from a battle. I also know Renesmee and I know that there is no way she will willingly stay cooped up wherever it is you have decided to stash her." I giggled as Jacob retreated behind Sam before saying gruffly "Fine, you can stay in the basement with Nessie, Haylee, Alice and Esme. You aren't allowed out, for any reason, do you understand that?" Emily smiled sweetly before nodding her head, I grinned through gritted teeth as another pain hit and Haylee nodded mutely with a stunned look on her beautiful face. I grabbed her hand and squeezed gently to try and reassure her that it was all going to be okay but it was a bad move because she felt my pain and I quickly shook my head at her and widened my eyes trying to warn her against saying anything
Alyssa prowled closer and closer to our circle, her agitation and anxiety written clearly on her marble features, she hunched her shoulders and snapped "Okay everybody knows where they have to be can we please get them into the basement. I think you guys will find that everything you're going to need is in there and I can tell you that I don't see them coming into the house but that doesn't mean that you should relax." Emily frowned deeply at the tiny red head barking orders at us before snapping off a quick salute and grunting "Yes Ma'am!" in a military fashion, making me laugh in spite of the consistent cramping that plagued my stomach. Alyssa snarled in the back of her throat but both Sam and Jacob stepped in front of us, protecting us from the violent creature before us. Esme appeared out of nowhere and wrapped her fingers around my upper arm, tugging gently; I knew what she wanted but I couldn't force my feet to follow her. I wanted to stay with Jacob, I needed to stay and protect him and the rest of my family. I knew Jake felt the same way and that was the only reason I had even contemplated the idea of hiding and leaving my family two warriors down. He crossed to me and kissed my mouth tenderly "Know this Renesmee Black, there is nothing in Heaven nor Hell that can keep me from returning to you; you are the sun, moon, stars, my entire universe. Keep our son safe and I will see you shortly, go now and keep Emily from busting down the basement door and coming to help." I chuckled as Emily swung an open hand towards Jacob's head, which he ducked with ease, and I said "I couldn't exist in a world that doesn't have you in it, I love you." I sniffed as I walked backwards towards the house I watched him raise his hand and heard him say "Love you too, Nessie." I turned blindly towards the house and was grateful for the guiding hands of Alice and Esme. I could hear Emily and Haylee saying their goodbyes and stopped moving both Alice and Esme regarded me curiously. I swallowed over the lump in my throat and said "What about Carlisle and Jazz; what about your goodbyes?" Both women looked relieved that I wasn't about to protest my forced exclusion but their relief didn't quite mask their pain at goodbyes cut short. Alice spoke lowly as she pushed a gently guiding hand against my back "We already said our goodbyes, although I do see that they will be pointless, so you don't need to worry about that and I think we'll have enough to worry about." I stopped again, turning back towards the group gathered under the trees I said "I want you all to be careful, don't try and be heroes. All heroes ever get is pain. I want you all whole and if that means you need to fight dirty than do it, if it means you need to run, than do that too." A cacophony of noise greeted my statement but it was Momma who danced forward to kiss me and hug me close "I know how you're feeling but there isn't any problem. You remain hidden and there won't be any need for heroics because Jacob will only need to focus on dismembering vampires not on protecting his head strong wife. We love you honey now go and get in the basement I have a feeling that the hour Alyssa gave us is fast coming to an end." She kissed me again before dancing back to Daddy's side. I sniffed emotionally before releasing a shaky breath, and nodding, then turning on my heel I walked into the house without looking back. It was the hardest thing I had ever done and my entire being protested with every step.
We hurried through the strangely deserted house and through the large walk in pantry where we found the door to the basement open and waiting for us. Esme stopped beside the door of the pantry; Alice danced down the stairs into the basement before calling up to me that everything was clear. I shooed Haylee through the door and down the wide concrete steps before gesturing for Emily to follow her, I glanced longingly back at the door before sighing resignedly and trailing after the others leaving Esme to follow. I reached the middle step as Esme closed the large heavy steel door, effectively locking us in, the sound overly loud in the silent room. I dropped my head and focused, through tear filled eyes, on making it down the rest of the stairs. As I reached the bottom of the stairs I finally got a look at our "prison". I knew that we hadn't gotten a whole lot of heads up in the fact that the Volturi were coming and I knew that my family worked fast but even this surprised me. The basement wasn't a basement any longer; it was now a reasonably big apartment equipped with three cots, a flat screen TV mounted on one wall along with a DVD player and a selection of DVD's, one corner had been converted to a bathroom while the other had been converted to a small kitchen. I shook my head and muttered "Why doesn't this surprise me" before crossing the room to take a seat on one of the cots. Emily and Haylee had stopped pretty much where they had entered and both of them stood staring around at the set up, Emily whistled through her teeth "Wow, I am constantly surprised at you lot. Even with a limited warning you are able to organise something so comfortable." Alice chuckled dryly saying "Alyssa asked if she could convert the basement about a week ago, Carlisle told her she could. I guess he thought she meant it to be a room for herself and then when I saw them coming she suggested this room as a perfect place to protect you all from the attack." I rolled my eyes and said to Emily "Try not to think on it too much, I've lived with a psychic my entire life and even now it can give me a headache."
I stood up and moved towards the small fully stocked kitchen when another pain struck, I doubled over with the force of it. I heard everyone surround me and their panic fuelled my own. This pain was different to the others, more fierce and it lasted longer, as it ended and I straightened I felt a warm gush down my legs, I looked down and was stunned to see a pool of blood streaked water around my feet. The mild panic I had been feeling was now full scale and I cried out. Pain gripped me as Alice lay me on the soft mattress of the cot in the corner of the basement, I curled in on myself and gasped in ragged breaths, moaning as my whole body bowed with pain; I opened my eyes and looked for Alice "Is he alright Alice?" I asked, she grimaced before dragging in a breath and saying "As far as I can tell but he seems really uncomfortable. He keeps wanting to turn around maybe we should check to see if everything is okay before you get too far." I nodded, unable to speak because I had my teeth clenched as another bout of pain overtook my body. I gripped the sides of the cot begging "No matter what, I want you to promise me that you will do your best to save this baby. If it comes down to it, save him, not me. Promise me, please." Emily sat down beside me, her light brown eyes flooded with pain and understanding but she shook her head; resting her smooth forehead against my sweaty one she whispered "Please don't ask me to do that Nessie, I couldn't; Jacob would never forgive me." I pushed against her and looked past her into Esme's worried gaze I said "Esme, promise me. I know you'll do this for me." I held my breath as another pain hit and held me in its talons and as it released me I heard Alice suck in a low breath, lifting my head from the pillow I asked "What? What is the matter with him?" Alice gritting her teeth said "Nothing is wrong with him, he is just breech." I moaned as another pain seized me in its grip, I pulled my legs up towards my chest, trying to breath through the pain and prevent myself from crying out. "Can't you do something?" Haylee cried out sobbing as another contraction hit and I closed my eyes trying to focus on my breathing. A quickly whispered conversation between Alice and Esme had me glancing towards them in time to see Esme frown and shrug her shoulders, I shuddered as a chill of understanding ran up my spine, Momma had died giving birth to me and they were worried that history might repeat itself, and I wasn't sure that they were wrong.
The time past in a distorted fashion, minutes felt like hours and hours felt like days, and in between painful contractions I lay unspeaking and unable to verbally communicate and I had never wished more for someone else to share Daddy's gift to hear my thoughts to let everyone know what I needed. I felt like my whole body was one sore muscle and I was finding it difficult to concentrate on the directions Emily was giving me and when her voice hitched with excitement and she said "Okay Renesmee I need you to push now." I shook my head and looked over at Esme who said "She is exhausted, isn't there something you can do?" Emily shook her head and said "No, there is nothing to be done now except to deliver him and unfortunately only Nessie can do that, I can only do a small amount." I sobbed as another contraction hit and I suddenly felt a huge urge to push, so I did which earned me praise from Emily and a kiss on my sweaty forehead from Alice who then wiped my head with a cool cloth. I grunted with effort and pushed with as much strength as I had left. I felt Emily's hands against my skin guiding my baby's backside out into the world. "Okay Nessie I need you to breath through the next one okay, no pushing just breath." I swore and said "Are you kidding me? I would like to see you breath through a pain like this. What the hell would you know?" and before I could continue my tirade another pain gripped me and I was lost in it, breathing deeply through the pain and forcing myself not to push was the hardest things I had ever done and as the pain receded I sunk back against the pillows and waited for her next words and when they came I was relieved to hear her say "Not long now Ness." I sobbed "I'm sorry Emily I know you've been through this I just want it to stop." As another contraction assailed me I heard her say "Honey I do know how you feel and I know that this feels like the worst pain imaginable but think about that sweet little baby you get at the end of it."
As the pain subsided, a thought suddenly occurred to me and panting from exhaustion I asked "Alice how is it going out there?" A hiss of disbelief swept through the room and everybody started talking all at once, the sound hurting my tired brain and I snapped "One person tell me, I can't handle your babbling." A stiff chuckle sounded from Alice as she said "We have other things that you need to concentrate on like bringing this little man into the world safely." I cringed as another agonising pain radiated through my body and said "Yeah sure that's easy for you to say, he isn't tearing your insides up." I tried to squeeze my eyes shut to block out the pain but the look on Alice's face had my eyes filling and I reached my hand up to her face and thought "I don't mean that, I'm just so tired." She nodded and another contraction gripped me making Emily smile as she said "I think one more push might do it. Okay Nessie I need you to push with all your might." I snarled deeply in the back of my throat "What do you think I've been doing? Having a frigging tea party?" but I pushed with everything I had left in me. Just as I reached the last of my energy I felt a great rushing release as the baby was helped from inside me. I pushed myself wearily onto my elbows and looked down at the tiny life that was being cradled within Emily's shaking hands. I shuddered with a deep rendering emotion and felt tears of love and adoration flow down my face. I scooted back against the head of the bed and reached trembling hands between my thighs and lifted my newborn son onto my chest.
Wonder and amazement flooded me as I stared down into the wrinkled face of my baby, I lifted brimming eyes to Alice and smiled tiredly "Look what I did." She laughed and said "You were amazing." I smiled tiredly around at the women in the room, I moved myself into a more comfortable position before saying "Alice did you want to hold him?" Alice who had moved away to get me a cup of water walked slowly back and perched softly next to me before saying "Are you sure? Jacob hasn't even held him yet and neither have Edward and Bella." I grinned happily up at her and wasn't really surprised when a blanket was handed to me and after wrapping the baby tightly inside it I handed him to Alice. We watched as she received him and held him close to her face and we were all totally stunned when he reached out a hand and touched her face lovingly, she raised her eyes to me and whispered "Your son is amazing and I will make sure that nothing ever hurts him." She kissed his soft cheek before passing him to Esme. I laughed softly which drew all eyes in my direction and I smiled saying "Of course he is fabulous, just look at him, and with a family as wonderful as ours was there any doubt that he was going to be?" The women I had just shared the most amazing, and the most painful, moments of my entire life with all laughed before surrounding the sleeping baby; they all cooed over his perfect little face and his gorgeous little fingers and toes, remarking on the shine to his already darkening skin. I tried to subtly cover a yawn but failed miserably, Haylee offered to help me clean up while Emily and Esme took turns holding the baby and Alice disposed of the bloody sheets. I was grateful for the assistance because my strength had all but deserted me and I found that my legs shook violently as I crossed the floor to the small bathroom. As I stood beneath the warm spray of the shower Haylee asked softly "Hey, Ness, was he worth it?" I stuck my head around the shower curtain and asked "The baby?" Haylee nodded and I noticed that she looked slightly green around the edges. I shrugged and decided that honesty was the best thing since she had just witnessed my son's birth. "Definitely, the pain is horrid but the result is more than worth it, why?" She blinked at me, stunning me with her honesty, before saying "Seth and I, we, you know, had sex and now I'm scared that I might end up pregnant and I don't want to have a baby now. I mean for goodness sakes we don't even know if they're gonna survive! I can't raise a baby on my own!" her hysteria was clear for me to see and I flicked the faucets off and wrapped a towel around my aching body. I crossed to where she sat on the toilet and said "Haylee, look at me please. I am telling you now that Seth is going to be fine, we are all going to be fine, and if you find out that you are pregnant than that will be a cause for celebration not regret; and if for some unknown reason something does happen and you are left to raise that child there is no way we; and that goes for Esme, Alice, Emily and the entire Quileute tribe, would let you do it on your own. We are family and family stick together." Haylee smiled wetly as she stood up behind me and started running a brush through my hair "Thanks for that Nessie, I just panicked. I know you'd be there for me, I just hate sitting in here knowing that Seth is out there fighting vicious killer vampires. I forget, sometimes, that there are any other types of vampire other than your family and I'm afraid that it will be detrimental to the fight." Before I could answer her there was a soft knock at the door and Emily came through the portal "Um we have a small situation out here, it seems like we have a little man who is getting hungry and his is about to let his displeasure be know in no uncertain terms. So how about you come and see to him and maybe I will be able to help Haylee with her crisis in faith considering I know exactly where she is coming from." I nodded before hugging Haylee tight and walked from the room, closing the door softly behind me. I looked for, and found, the baby being held by Esme in one of the few chairs that graced the room. My eyes sought Alice who lay, as though asleep, on one of the other cots. I moved closer to Esme and stared down at the tiny little man that was my son, I reached out a loving hand to cup the dark curls that circled his head; I fell more in love with him as I watched his gorgeous little eyes open and stare straight at me.
He blinked curiously up at me as if trying to remember where he knew me from and I heard myself laugh as he furrowed his brow and switched his glance between Esme and me trying to decide if he really wanted me or if he was comfortable with Esme. Obviously his hunger won out, just like Jake, and as his eyes locked on me again he opened his full lips and squawked his displeasure at being kept waiting. Everyone in the room laughed gently as I gathered my newborn son into my arms and begun to feed him, I gasped as his mouth found my breast. I hadn't expected to feel what I was feeling and I hadn't known that the experience would feel so rewarding. I sunk into the chair beside Esme, staring at the perfection that was my son. His skin had lost some of the fierce redness of birth and now was a luminous russet colour and I was excited to see if he would shimmer in the sunlight like I did or if his skin would throw rainbows like the rest of my family, or if he had inherited Jacob's skin. He lay in the protective circle of my arms, staring up at me with a cloudy gaze his eyes a dark black colour.
A deep grinding sound vibrated through the room causing Emily, Haylee and I to jump in fear. My heart shuddered and quickened its beats as I tried to hear what had caused the sound. I gathered the baby closer to my chest and crouched in a protective stance near the far wall of the room, I knew that no matter what happened that Alice and Esme would protect Haylee and Emily but it was up to me to protect my baby. It was this sound of destruction that reminded me of the battle raging outside the little cocoon of pain and happiness I had been immersed within. I closed my eyes and, whispering soothing words to my son, prayed with every fibre of my being that everyone I loved would make it through the battle that was raging outside.
I'd hate to deliver in that situation.
But upside a healthy little boy
please review
Cherie
xxx
