Disclaimer: BD = not mine :( OMG can't wait for the trailer though. Hurry up Summit! We're goin' crazy here!
Chapter Fifty Two: Counting ChickensEsme:
It wasn't long at all before a very anxious Edward followed equally nervous Bella into the house. Carlisle, aiming for a lighthearted and optimistic attitude, carried out his examination with energy. Of course, it wasn't too hard for him to minimalise his anxiety with Rosalie chattering in his ear about how much Bella wanted to keep the baby and me smiling at him from across the room. He was by no means comfortable under all this pressure - particularly with Edward scowling from his new wife's side - but Carlisle knew he needed to be authority figure here. He was her doctor and she needed him to have a clear head. A clear head that was as desperate to keep her child as she was, so perhaps not so clear at all...
My smile faltered. I felt terrible for manipulating him like this; it seemed like I was pitting him against Edward. Edward, my marvelous son, the last person in the world I would want to hurt outside of Carlisle.
Suddenly, Carlisle jumped.
"Unbelievable," he murmured, tentatively placing his hand back against Bella's ballooning belly, his expression somewhere between a smile and a frown.
"Rose! Rose!" Bella cried gleefully. "My little nudger is kicking!"
Rosalie gleefully swarmed over to Bella, praising and smiling and joking, her laugh ringing out like bells when she felt the child moving. A hand almost subconsciously reached up to touch my cheek, to wipe away the tears that should have been slipping down it.
"Esme," Bella beckoned quietly. "Come on."
Rosalie obligingly stepped aside as I made my way across the room and lay my hand where Bella directed. There was a moment of silence, of perfect stillness, and then I felt it. A whimper escaped my lips when I felt that little bump against my palm. I gave a breathy little snort of laughter and glanced up at Bella's face. She smiled at me. I felt a hand gently squeeze my shoulder and saw Carlisle standing beside me, a peaceful smile on his face as he observed my interaction with Bella and her child.
"Carlisle," Edward growled quietly. "You and I have some serious talking to do."
Bella looked unsettled all of a sudden. Rose hurried to reassure her. Carlisle's hand disappeared from my shoulder.
"I agree, Edward," he said calmly. "However, I hope you don't have it in your head to convince me against this path of action. I have made my decision."
Bella's eyes flickered to my face, then Rose's and then back to Edward's. Carlisle had been careful not to incriminate the rest of us by identifying us as part of his decision-making process, but both Edward and Bella knew we had participated.
"I think we had best take this conversation elsewhere," Edward suggested cordially. Carlisle nodded and the two of them disappeared. I bit my lip lightly.
"I hope Edward isn't too hard on Carlisle," Bella murmured. "He can be terribly overprotective." She smiled weakly and swayed on the spot. Rose sighed and rolled her eyes, catching Bella and directing her towards the couch.
"Honestly, Bella, why don't you sleep on aeroplanes? It's bad for you and baby to force yourself to stay awake like this. You probably haven't eaten anything either. Esme, make her something will you?"
"I'm sorry, who died and made you Queen of Everything?" Alice objected before her sister could steal Bella from the room. "I think you're forgetting the most important thing. Somebody has to buy this blimp a new wardrobe and I say we might as well do it while she's awake."
"Well we can't take her to any stores around here," Emmett pointed out. "Someone'll think Bella's been gang-beaten. And that's without the freaky-fast baby bump. Nobody gets that pregnant in three weeks."
Alice scowled. Rosalie huffed and stroked her hand across Bella's belly.
"I think it's beautiful," she insisted. "And a faster pregnancy just means we'll get to look at the little nudger's beautiful face sooner!"
The others filtered through, with Bella, to the lounge, leaving only myself and Jasper, his presence like a shadow in the doorway. He was the only one of us who hadn't spoken up yet. He usually was the last, but I would have thought that, with so many conflicting and undoubtedly powerful emotions about this subject, he would have voiced his thoughts long ago.
Sensing my confusion, Jasper smiled half a smile and stepped up to my side.
"I'm on Alice's side," he offered. "At present, this is something to be excited about, but Carlisle's worry has strong foundation and merit. I wouldn't discard that so quickly."
"Hopefully his worry's strong foundation can be shaken," I remarked.
"Hopefully," Jasper agreed.
.o.o.o.
Carlisle:
We ran through the forest until Edward stopped and turned around.
"WHAT do you think you're DOING?" he roared. "You think this is alright, huh? To just let that - that thing destroy her? She's only...I don't know, a week through? Two? And she already looks like a meth addict. Can you imagine what will happen if this continues?"
"I can. And I don't like it," I replied. "But who's to say it will continue like this? It's not unheard of for the beginning of a pregnancy to be rocky and uncertain before steadying out as the body learns to accommodate. Sometimes the mother is driven to the brink of death before pulling out the other side, both parties alive and kicking."
"Bella's had enough near-death experiences!" Edward declared. "Her number is well and truly up! You can help her, Carlisle! Don't you have some kind of authority in these situations? Can't you declare her of unsound mind or something? Anything!"
"I could, but that would be forgery and deceit."
"Hypocrite."
"I don't want to lie any more than I have to, Edward."
"Are you saying that she is of sound mind?" He raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"I believe so," I replied. "She has life inside of her, and she wants to protect it. She makes perfect sense."
"Sense!" Edward threw his arms in the air. "Christ, Carlisle, how did you graduate Med school again? I'm pretty sure wanting to throw your life away for an unnatural, life-sucking monster is not sane behaviour. There must be something you can do! Strap her down for all I care! Please, I'm begging you! She doesn't know what's good for her, Carlisle!"
"That's not your call."
"Exactly! It's yours!"
"And I say Bella is perfectly sane, and since I will be closely monitoring her condition-"
"WHAT?" Edward cried. "You've got to be joking. You can't be serious. You can make her give it up, can't you?"
"No, Edward, I cannot," I struggled to keep up eye contact, tracking him as he paced in front of me. He sounded so painfully desperate. He looked worse. I sighed.
"Edward, I've discussed these things..."
"With Esme," Edward muttered bitterly.
"Yes with Esme! What difference does it make?" I snapped, before recovering myself. "I'm sorry, Edward. I know this is frightening for you. It is for me too, believe me. But we don't know what's going to happen and it's wrong to destroy what or whoever Bella is carrying until we know for absolute certain that there is a health risk to Bella."
"Tell me that next week when it looks like she's been pushed off Niagra Falls."
With that, he stalked away. I watched him go, having not the heart to follow him, and decided to linger in the forest for a while longer. I decided to hunt before I returned, and sniffed out a herd of deer by a slow section of the creek not far off.
You're welcome to join me, Edward, I offered, looking around myself in hope of seeing him. He made no sound in response; nor could I spot a particular movement.
It saddens me that we are at odds on this, I told him. I will not give up on Bella, I promise you. I haven't signed over her soul for this child. Please, Edward, be mature about this. Together, we can work towards Bella's best interests. Let us make up and put this behind us.
A loud, Rosalie-eque hiss from out of sight told me not to count on it.
