It was morning two days later. Bella and Edward were just getting out of the bed. Fawkes could be seen from their room.
"Maybe he's actually Dumbledore," uttered Bella.
"Excuse me?" asked Edward.
"It's just a little thought that Jacob had. That is, they aren't entirely sure who thought it first. It's not like I believe in moving of souls and all that Taha-Aki stuff but maybe it was possible for Dumbledore to pour his mind into his familiar. I haven't mentioned this to Jacob but the fact is that the bird seems to be getting off on watching us..."
Bella didn't finish the thought. She had no need to.
"Ugh! That's sick! That would be too sick even for Emmett's taste!" exclaimed Edward.
"Amen to that!" called Emmett from downstairs.
Bella went about her morning hygiene. When she arrived in the kitchen, Fawkes was there already. Esme gave him a bowl of seeds to nibble on. Fawkes stopped eating and watched Bella.
"Dumbledore!" she barked at him.
Fawkes pulled his head back, not understanding.
"You're actually Dumbledore, aren't you!" elaborated Bella.
Fawkes started to make sounds like laughter.
Jasper looked up from his newspaper and told Bella, "Unless he can mask his feelings, it's safe to call that theory false."
"You can feel him?"
"Not as well as humanoids."
"You know, maybe he's just concerned," suggested Esme.
"Concerned?" asked Edward.
"Yes. In case there was, you know, an accident. After all, his tears could probably neutralize even our venom."
Bella glanced one more time at Fawkes and tried her best to ignore him while she prepared her breakfast.
"So, has it come yet?" asked Esme, trying to start a casual conversation.
Bella turned to her and responded, "I think you've got a nose so you would be able to smell it for yourself if it did. And seriously, you need to stop asking me that. It's creepy."
"That's rich, coming from you!" barfed Emmett.
Ten minutes later, Bella was vomiting in a nearest toilet. Fawkes flew off from his perch and observed from a hallway. He couldn't get closer because Edward was blocking his way. He considered flaming in but decided against it in the end. When Edward and Bella returned to the kitchen, five pairs of eyes were watching them (Rose and Alice returned from outside quickly).
"What?" huffed Bella at them. She poured herself a glass of water.
"Well..." said Esme and fell silent.
"Don't get any ideas," told Bella to everybody. "It would be ludicrous to think that this means anything. Regardless of the state of things, it would be way too soon anyway."
"Bella, you have never threw up since you moved to Forks. At least not to my knowledge," said Edward.
"Do you remember ever having stomach problems before?" asked Esme.
"Sure, there was this one time when I was practising a new dark spell."
"Maybe we should call Carlisle," proposed Rose. (Carlisle had left for work before Bella arrived downstairs.)
"No, it's nothing. He can look at me later, if it's needed."
Fawkes's interest in Bella raised exponentially. Alice's visions of Bella became jammed. She asked Fawkes to leave for a moment and surprisingly, he obliged her. She confirmed it - something was jamming Bella's future.
The signs continued throughout the day. The nausea didn't recede, Bella was barely able to hold down some fruit and tea. A few hours before Carlisle's return, Bella noticed some kind of a pebble in her abdomen. Rose, Esme, and Emmett started to be excited.
"Don't get your hopes up - it could be anything," warned them Bella. "Like I've said, it's too soon for any of this to be related with... you know."
Edward noticed how Bella started to avoid words like "baby", "child", or "pregnant". He realized that it was too soon but he wondered whether Bella was ready for motherhood.
Evening came and Carlisle returned from work. "You should have called me," he admonished the others when he learned about the events of the day. He examined Bella. His conclusion was that it was indeed possible for Bella to be pregnant.
"But that's ludicrous! How could it be happening so soon?" repeated Bella.
"I don't know. Maybe it's occurring faster for some reason. Maybe your magic is affecting the process," theorized Carlisle.
Next day came and morning sickness with it. Bella had a suspicion that it wasn't going to go away. Carlisle took a day off. They tried to get some food in Bella but she just sniffed at the things offered to her and pushed them away.
"It's no use. It would just make me sick," she told the others.
"But you need to eat!" emphasized Edward.
"You are right," agreed Bella. "And I think I've got just the right idea. It will confirm our theory as well."
"Which theory?"
"Whether this is real."
"Are you still in doubt?" asked Esme.
Bella didn't answer and walked out on the porch. She pulled her wand out and waited. After a minute, she cast a summoning charm and a bird flew into her hand. She carried it inside, still alive.
"Feel free to step out if this bothers you," she told the others. Nobody moved.
Bella pulled out a bowl, cut the bird's throat and drained its blood into the bowl. The yield wasn't big but it was enough to test her theory.
"Please, get rid of this," she asked and put the carcass in the sink.
"You can't drink this - you could get sick from it," told her Carlisle. "We need to pasteurize it first."
Bella chuckled and responded, "I know. I contracted rabbit fever when I was small. But I've learned a neat trick for when you don't have time to make a fire."
Emmett took the carcass away. Bella cupped her palms together over the sink to make a bowl and asked Edward to pour the blood in it. Edward didn't know what Bella intended but he did as he was asked. Bella concentrated for a moment and a small wave of magic rippled through the red liquid. The witch lowered her face and drank.
"Wait!" cried Carlisle. "I hope it wasn't what I think it was. Then it wouldn't wise to consume anything which has been treated that way."
Bella finished drinking, licked her lips, and replied, "Don't worry, it wasn't a death field. It was actually something closer to sanitization spells." She licked her hands and added, "Well, I've just come to a full circle. My human life started with living on forest animals and that's how it's going to end."
She felt silent and started thinking. She cleaned herself up, walked to a sofa, and sat down. She propped her chin on her hands and kept thinking.
"Bella?" asked Edward after a minute or two.
She leaned down and answered, "Well, that settles it. The blood tasted better than it should to me. So this is probably real unless I'm somehow becoming a vampire. Either way, alea iacta est."
There was a while of silence. Emmett seemed to be lost in thought.
Jasper observed, "Well, if it's accelerated, then you will be able to stand with us when the Volturi come."
Others looked at him with disdain but Bella beamed at him and agreed, "You are right!"
Jasper added, "Alice, I do believe that we should keep our distance if you want to keep watching Tanya and her family."
Emmett came out of his musing. Edward frowned at him but Emmett ignored him and said, "The whole acceleration thing could also mean something else. I do recollect a certain sci-fi movie about fast growing aliens..."
Rosalie grasped his arm to gain his attention and gave him a look which said, "Don't talk about such things, least of all in front of Bella."
Carlisle shook his head and stated, "I'd better go. I need to get you some donated blood."
"Wait! No way!" disagreed Bella.
"Why not?"
"I'm pretty sure that somewhere in the future, a committee of uptight bureaucrats is going to ask me whether I've ever drunk human blood. I want to be able to simply answer: No, never."
She turned in Emmett's direction and requested, "Could you guys catch a few herbivores for me?"
Emmett nodded and Jasper offered to join him.
"Drain their blood in canisters," elaborated Bella. "I should try some liver and brain as well. I don't want to be on liquid diet completely." She turned to Carlisle and asked, "How long is the pasteurization going to take?"
"Ten hours."
"No matter, I can sanitize more blood in the meantime - I should probably do that with the liver anyway."
"It would be better if you didn't exert yourself," suggested Edward. He was talking both about magic and physical movement.
"Right," agreed Bella.
Her lunch consisted of a glass of sanitized blood mixed with milk and a plate of lightly boiled liver. The mixture of blood and milk went down well since it was still quite early. Bella's stomach seemed to accept the liver equally well, even though it wasn't raw. Carlisle theorized that Bella's craving for blood would increase and her tolerance for human food would decrease in time. Esme wanted to propose that they should find out what else could Bella eat while there was still time (since she would probably never eat solid food ever again). Then she noticed Edward shaking his head - that wasn't Bella. In fact, he noticed that she seemed to be nonplussed by the whole matter.
"Well, that's settled. What now?" said Carlisle as Bella drank her dinner several hours later.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Well, we have figured out your diet. But there are other issues," explained Carlisle.
"Such as?"
"The baby is rock hard while you are soft. That's going to pose a problem."
"I don't know. We are going to figure it out as we go, I guess. That is, if this is really what it seems to be."
Carlisle stared at her in incomprehension for a moment. Edward, on the other hand, wasn't very surprised.
"You guess?" asked Carlisle. "I was under impression that you had some kind of a plan!"
"I have no idea what could possibly give you that impression."
Carlisle remembered that night when Bella had disclosed her magic to them and realized that she was right. She had never told them that she knew how to carry a half-vampire child safely.
He wanted to stay home next day as well but Bella convinced him that it would be conspicuous. He agreed to go to work - he needed to arrange for a few last pieces of medical equipment which weren't available in the house already. He also decided to arrange for a longer leave of absence, starting next week.
During next few days, Bella had to admit that there was no doubt - she was a mother. Still, she couldn't bring herself to actually think it. She felt silly. Her memory wasn't perfect but she still remembered the day when she had talked about it for the first time. She remembered how flippant and even vulgar she had been about it back then.
Edward found her lost in thoughts. He touched her mind briefly to announce his presence and hugged her from behind.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked.
"Have I been projecting?" asked Bella in return. "I haven't even noticed."
"No, but I've been observing you for last few days."
Bella sighed and started to talk, "Half of me has not realised what's happening yet. The other half is scared."
"That's normal."
Bella shook hear head and explained, "It's just that I have always hated my mother so much. I'm also pretty sure that she hated her own parents. How do I prevent the history from repeating itself?"
Edward was momentarily stumped by such uncharacteristic depth. "I think you've already made first step," he said in the end. "Your mother considered you a sentinel. A faulty sentinel to boot. She never loved you, if you don't mind me saying. Her only concern was whether you were capable of living up to her expectations. Your approach is exactly opposite - you are asking yourself whether you can be a good mother. I would give you one advice though: Don't kill me like your mother killed your father."
Bella laughed softly and replied, "Well, I think it was actually kind of an accident."
After a while, she remembered something and asked, "Do you realize what this all means? I mean this... pregnancy."
Edward narrowed his eyes and replied, "I'm not sure I know what exactly should it mean."
"Think about it. We didn't have to take any special measures to achieve this. It just happened on its own. Do you catch my meaning now?"
"No, I don't and I don't think it was that easy either. At least as far as my self-control was concerned."
"No, but it still happened naturally. And if it could happen for us, who's to say that it couldn't have happened for other people as well? For all we know, there are thousands of dhampirs out there!"
Emmett turned the volume of the TV down and started to pay closer attention to the conversation.
Edward shook his head slowly and said, "Bella, what we have is rather unique."
"Yes, it is. I believe we are the first witch and vampire to do this. However, are we also first human and vampire? Let's say there was once a vampire who mated with a human woman without killing her. Let's say he didn't kill her even afterwards. Let's say he was so curious about the baby that he didn't destroy it, despite his fear from the Volturi. Let's say the child grew up to be as strong as vampires and killed him."
"Then there would be exactly one dhampir on this planet."
"I'm not finished. This dhampir would eventually find a human partner and started his or her own family. If he or she wasn't sterile then we could be talking about a whole dynasty of dhampirs!"
"The vampire DNA would eventually dilute - just like in Teddy's case."
Bella nodded and continued, "I guess they would want their children to preserve their strength. It wouldn't be very difficult for them to obtain some vampire venom. Then the females could turn their husbands before having children with them."
Edward raised his eyebrows and replied, "A dynasty of dhampirs and vampires? You are reaching now!"
"Well, it's something that's going to be right here quite soon - a dhampir with a whole family of vampires to look after him or her. And one day, it might want to start its own family."
"Unless he or she is sterile - like all hybrids," muttered Edward. It dawned on him that in their eagerness to have a child, they were indirectly denying the same luxury to their offspring.
"Descendants of the Children of the Moon weren't sterile despite the different chromosomal counts. We'll just have to have faith. Besides, it's rather early to think about such things. And too late as well, I think."
They thought about it for a minute or two. Finally, Bella proposed, "If this baby is as unique as I believe, then we need to think about a name. There might not be time for that later. Alice isn't here at the moment, right?"
"She and Jasper are just at the cottage, I can call her."
"No, that's all right. I'll think about it and I'm going to sit down with Esme, Rose, and Alice tomorrow to get their opinions. You can join us, of course."
"How generous of you," replied Edward with mirth in his voice.
They convened next day. There were two uninvited guests: Emmett and Fawkes. Bella could deal with Emmett and his idiotic name suggestions but she didn't like the bird's presence. In fact, she disliked his interest in her.
"Fawkes, why are you so interested in my kid?" she growled at him.
Negative response.
"You aren't?"
Confirmation.
"Then go away!"
The phoenix thought about it and did as he was asked after a moment.
"He behaves kind of weird, you know," commented Emmett.
"Don't you say," dead-panned Rosalie.
"Maybe he hopes that the child will be a wizard," theorized Bella. "His or her intellect will be surely astounding. I bet that Fawkes hopes to get a new Dumbledore out of this."
"Now, now," disagreed Emmett. "Dumbledore modelled himself after Merlin. This kid will be more like Gandalf. You know, not actually being human and all."
"OK, let's get to those names - one for a girl and one for a boy," declared Bella after a pause. "I've got three rules. One: no celestial bodies, planets, or anything else astronomical. Two: no naming after anybody who lives in this area because that would be confusing. For example, we can't choose Harry after Harry Potter because there's also Harry Clearwater. Three: it must be something normal and reasonably non-archaic."
"Fair enough," agreed Esme. "Do you've got something in mind already?"
"Well, I've got an idea for a girl. It's quite clear, actually."
Esme understood and immediately said, "Elizabeth!"
"Exactly! How did you know?"
"Well, you can't use Edward or Bella, because you two are also Edward and Bella. Sirius is a star. That leaves Edward's mother."
Edward was somewhat touched by the motion and asked, "Are you sure? I've thought you wanted something simple and modern."
Alice waved her hand and retorted, "I wouldn't worry about that. It can be shortened in many ways: Liz, Lizzie, Beth, Betty."
"Well, that settles the name for a girl," said Rose. "What if it's a boy?"
They discussed it. James was out - because of the vampire James. Name after name was shot down for various reasons. In the end, they settled for one of Emmett's younger brothers. What the name was, is not important.
Bella had been living in a kind of a home-bubble for several days but the outside world reminded itself unfortunately next day. Charlie called. He wondered why Bella had not come to visit him and whether there wasn't something wrong.
Bella thought about a possible excuse quickly and answered, "I'm sorry, I should have called you. It's just that we've recently married and want some time for ourselves. I'm sure you understand."
"Yes. Yes, of course," stammered Charlie, momentarily embarrassed. "I've just thought that since you've visited a few days after the wedding..."
"Well, we are starting to get the hang of it just now..."
Charlie slammed the receiver down in hurry. He repeated to himself that Bella wasn't his daughter actually.
Bella looked down and stroked the growing bump between her hips. "Well, that worked for now," she said to those who were in vicinity.
"Carlisle estimates that the entire pregnancy will be a month long," told her Edward. "That still leaves us with more than three weeks. Do you want to keep this secret for that whole time?"
"Of course I do. It's better that way."
"Well, I've just thought that there is still the possibility that our friends in La Push will find out. Maybe it would be better if we shared this with Charlie and your aunt before other complications arrive. And who knows? Maybe your aunt could be helpful."
Bella shook her head and countered, "Absolutely not. I've got a feeling that she partially blames me for her daughter's death. She probably realizes that there was nothing I could do but there's bound to be some resentment. The bottom line is, I'm pretty sure that she wouldn't feel any guilt if our child died."
Edward pondered her words, not even bothering to smile when she said "our child". He tried to estimate how much were their bonds with their friends and allies stable.
"How about Hermione?" he asked in the end.
Bella didn't even bother to answer and sent him her refusal through her mind. Not that Edward wouldn't be able to read it from her face anyway.
Carlisle's "vacation" started next week. Since then, he was keeping Bella under constant observation. He finally deigned it safe to use an ultra-sound machine. The results were hardly unexpected - nothing could get through the amniotic sac. Bella agreed to let Carlisle to try amniocentesis in a week or two but it was quite clear already that it wouldn't work.
The toughness of the sac had one advantage - the baby was less likely to hurt Bella. Any sharp movements were going to be blunted. The baby would still cause bruising or even crack bones if it was strong enough but he or she wouldn't be able to, let's say, put a foot through her belly. So far, any movements were mild due to small size of the fetus. Bella mentioned that she had something in mind for later.
Charlie sensed that something was off. It was going to be three weeks since the wedding soon. He didn't believe the honeymoon excuse much. He would if the newly-weds were normal but they weren't. He had seen them a few days after their wedding and it was obvious to him that their relationship wasn't hot or passionate. Somehow, the idea that they suddenly needed so much time alone didn't sit right with him.
He reasoned that maybe there was something magical between them that he didn't understand. The wheels of his imagination started to turn. He imagined Edward turning into a sparkling humming-bird-like sprite and eating magical nectar. He hit himself in his own head with his palm to stop his imagination before Bella could somehow enter the scene. Still, if the Cullens were in reality harmless sprites glamoured as humans, why were his instincts screaming at him to run every time he was in their presence? Maybe that was part of the glamour - a defence mechanism. Then again, if they were harmless, how had they been able to turn the tide of the battle of that magical castle? Or why would be the Quileutes so wary of them?
He decided to drop the matter - after all, it was none of his business. He reconsidered when he accidentally found out that Dr. Cullen had taken a leave of absence. That caught his interest and made him start to worry again. He immediately concluded that Carlisle was staying home because of Bella. That led him to a question: Why would Bella need constant medical care? Charlie decided that he needed to discuss the matter with Billy, Harry, and maybe even Andromeda Tonks. Of course, he wasn't going to tell them about the marriage - he didn't believe that it had anything to do with what was going on anyway.
The Quileutes told him that they had not seen Bella during the previous two weeks either. Just like in his case, she had visited them shortly after the wedding but not ever again since then. They started to discuss their theories about what was possibly going on.
"So you believe that she is unwell?" asked Billy.
"It feels like it," answered Charlie.
"Come on!" exclaimed Jared. "If there was something wrong with her, she would tell us."
"Would she?" contended Jacob. "After you have chased her out of here?" He glanced at Andromeda as he said that.
"Well, there's no helping it now. The question is: What could it possibly be?" stated Billy.
"Radiation sickness!" proposed Jared. "Maybe her shield wasn't perfect and while it protected me, she might have gotten a dose. I don't remember anybody taking a look at her back there - they just checked the Cullens."
Charlie was stumped only momentarily. He knew about the bomb but he had not heard the details. "That's not it," he disagreed. "Do you think such an experienced doctor such as Dr. Cullen wouldn't think about that?"
"Maybe not," mused Andromeda. "Maybe they simply consider her to be infallible."
"No, they don't," argued Jared.
"OK, listen," spoke Harry Clearwater. "I think we can agree that something is going on. Maybe it's that genetic disorder she told us about. Maybe her disease has entered its final stage. Is it possible that she has decided to become one of them? Is it possible that it has happened already?"
Charlie narrowed his eyes in confusion.
"Oh come on. If that was the case, it would be already over," argued Jacob.
"Maybe she is unstable," spoke Sam. "Maybe she wants to keep it a secret."
"Look, if that was the case, they would move into a remote area beforehand."
"Maybe they have," proposed Jared. "How do we know that they are still in Forks?"
There was a moment of silence.
"There's one more thing to consider," spoke Billy. "Bella might feel that this isn't our business and maybe it isn't. So we are going to take a vote."
Most people voted to stay involved. A few people abstained. Only Andromeda was against.
"Very well, I've got an idea," said Billy. "We'll pay her a visit."
"Who is we?" asked Andromeda.
"Me, Charlie, maybe Jared. Charlie, could you arrange it?"
Charlie nodded, thinking about a possible explanation already.
"I would like to go instead of Jared," said Jacob.
"Aren't you a bit young for that?" asked Sam.
"That's why they won't consider me a threat. They have seen Jared in action, they know what he can do."
Later that day, Charlie called the Cullens and asked for Bella.
"I've got some bad news," he told her. "Billy and Jacob miss you and have decided that the three of us should pay you a visit. I didn't know how to tell them that we shouldn't do that - at least not without tipping them off about your... new status."
"Oh. Do they have any additional reasons for this visit?" asked Bella.
Charlie decided to stick to the truth and answered, "Well, I guess Billy also wants to know if you're OK. I'm not sure I completely understand the situation."
Bella looked at Edward who nodded.
"OK, but I'm not sure I'll be much of a company," she said finally.
"Why not?"
"I'll explain when you come."
The day of the visit came. When Charlie's cruiser got in range, Billy realized that Edward would be able to read Charlie's mind (his and Jacob's thoughts were safe enough from Edward's weak gift). He didn't think it was a problem though - at least Bella would know that they meant well.
Esme ushered them in and told them that it was nice of them to come to see Bella. Charlie noticed that Alice, Jasper, Rose, and Emmett were leaving the house. He didn't understand why, unlike Billy who realized that it was because of Jacob who was still young and thus it was unwise for him to be around so many vampires. The three visitors were little confused at first when Edward led them upstairs. They quickly understood when they saw Bella lying in her bed, reading a book. An empty teacup was on a night-table next to the bed.
"Bella?" asked Billy in confusion. The idea of Bella being sick and having to stay in bed seemed so... muggle to him.
"Hi," greeted Bella and put the book aside.
"I'll give you some privacy," said Edward and left the room. Of course, everybody with the exception of Charlie understood that he would hear everything anyway.
"Bella?" repeated Billy. "What's wrong? Are you ill?"
"No need to worry, I've been through this before."
"When? I've never seen you sick," said Charlie.
"It happened to me after Dumbledore was killed," elaborated Bella. "Not after the skirmish in the Department of Mysteries though - I didn't use enough dark magic back then. However, it was nowhere near this bad."
"And what is it? Backslash from using dark arts?" asked Jacob.
"I don't think so. Due to timing, it's more like withdrawal. And this time around, there were two occasions in quick succession when I had to use excessive amounts of magic. I'm sure you remember how my scent was shifted after I've returned from England?"
"Yes, just like after the ant colony," confirmed Jacob and sniffed at the air. "In fact, your scent is shifted again but differently."
Bella was momentarily stumped and Edward cursed himself for not thinking about it.
"Yes, I've been told so," said Bella finally. "That's the withdrawal stage. It didn't get this far after Nevada because we went to Britain. Any symptoms disappeared shortly after I've cast a killing curse to test whether I was up to it. But now I'm drying up again."
"So, if you started using dark arts again, you would get better?" asked Billy.
"Well, I don't want to do that. It's better to wait it out. Of course, there's another theory."
The three visitors waited for her to continue.
"There's something that happened at Hogwarts," explained Bella. "Jared doesn't know about it, he arrived to the scene a bit later."
She told them about her pre-fight banter with her mother. Of course, she omitted anything about vampires because Charlie didn't know about them yet. To say that Jacob, Billy, and Charlie were flabbergasted would be an understatement.
"So, maybe there's some kind of deteriorating mechanism triggered by my mother's death," she concluded.
"Your aunt should take a look at you," proposed Billy after a while of silence.
"I don't think so."
"Bella, she could help..."
"No. I don't want her involved. Her daughter died while I survived - that's how she sees things."
They were about to argue with her and to try to convince her but she raised her hand and interrupted them, "Guys, I've already know what I'm going to do. I would like to speak with Billy. In private, if it's all right."
Jacob and Charlie left reluctantly. Only then Bella told Billy that her mother had always intended for her to become a vampire.
"It's all pointing to it. Whatever this is, whatever we might find, I'll always get back to what I knew from the beginning - that I need be changed."
Billy made no reply.
"If it's the treaty you are concerned about, we can use a syringe."
"That's hardly the point," retorted Billy, waving his hand dismissively. "The boys from the pack will be more interested in something else. Are you going to be able to keep yourself under control? I have my doubts about that, you know."
"Well, thanks for believing in me. I'm going to have to disagree."
"I'm sorry, Bella, but I've asked your aunt about that. She has told me what happens when a wizard becomes a wild vampire."
"Bollocks. She couldn't have told you anything because this area is still unexplored. Such a thing has happened only once. Ever. The wizard in question wasn't able to keep himself under control even as a human. Me, on the other hand, have been suppressing my dark nature for last year or two. I believe that I should be fine and the Cullens share my confidence."
"That may be but you are a natural killer. I think this part of you will be highlighted after you change."
"Oh, I agree - I've killed a lot of people in past years. So have the Cullens and Jared but that doesn't matter. What matters is that I intend to turn my killer instincts against the Volturi, not against innocent people - if there is such a thing to begin with."
Billy thought about it for a while. Then he tossed his hands in the air and huffed, "This is well beyond my crippled ass. Do as you think. I just hope that you do know what are you doing."
"Billy, I assure you that we've been discussing this for several past months. I'm convinced, now more than ever, that this is the best way. For everybody."
Bella said her goodbyes and the visitors left. Jacob was strangely uneasy with going away. As they drove back, he kept thinking about Bella's scent. There was one thing that was off about Bella's explanation. Her new scent didn't seem bad, ill, or corrupted to him.
Back in the house, Edward returned to his and Bella's room. She threw the covers off (including a special rubberised one meant to muffle sounds). Her bulging belly was plainly visible under her pyjamas. She put on warm fluffy slippers and a robe. Edward helped her to walk down, carrying her down the stairs, and then returned to open a window. Bella was stroking her belly when he returned down.
"Are the kicks getting stronger?" asked Carlisle. She had got a couple of bruises already.
"Nothing pleasant but I'm sure it's going to get worse," she answered.
"We should have thought about this," said Edward.
"Like I've said, I've got an idea - but it's too soon to use it. In the meantime, I need you to listen for the baby's thoughts. I'll try to do the same but, as you can imagine, I've got no experience with such a thing."
Edward narrowed his eyes and answered, "I'm not sure if it's going to be possible. Not only that unborn babies have no solid thoughts but they are difficult to separate from readings I'm getting from their mothers - until shortly before a birth."
"Yes, but you don't hear anything from me. And this baby should have greater intellectual capacity."
"True. However, your occlumency might cause the baby to be shielded as well."
Bella nodded and acknowledged, "Maybe. Well, keep listening anyway."
"What do you intend?" asked Edward.
"It's just a little idea. I'm not even sure if it's going to work."
Rosalie and Emmett returned by that time. Esme and Rose joined Bella on the sofa for some bonding with the new soon-to-be-mother. It seemed to Edward that Bella was finally coming to terms with the whole situation. He caught Carlisle's thoughts. The Cullen patriarch didn't need to be a mind reader or empathic to know that Esme and Rose were happier than ever before. In fact, the emotional atmosphere of the entire family was filled with hope. Whether this hope would turn to joy or be replaced with sorrow was yet to be seen.
Jasper and Alice returned. Fawkes flew in with them. Edward had an alarming thought: What if Fawkes was waiting for Bella to die so he could become a familiar of the newborn dhampir-wizard? The bird claimed that he had no special interest in the baby but he could be lying.
Edward and Carlisle met in Carlisle's office. They were the only members of the family with medical education and wanted to brainstorm a little before discussing their ideas with the others. They were sure that bringing the hybrid child to the world and saving Bella at the same time was going to be a challenge.