The Flower Moon
Year Eight, Chapter Twenty-Nine
Three Days and Counting
Renesmee's Point of View
David was beside himself. Torment was written all over his face. He loved Janet and didn't want to see her die, but he didn't want her to become a Vampire either. I was worried he would try to kill her, and then himself, as soon as we walked through the front door. I saw the look on his face, I knew what that look in his eyes meant, but he wouldn't talk to me or Jake the entire drive.
As soon as he entered Edward's old room, and saw Janet on the bed, screaming and writhing in pain, David seemed to lose his nerve, or have a change of heart, or something. He must have still felt her in there somewhere, through his Imprint bond.
Rushing over to her side he went to grab her hand, but stopped himself before making contact, instead choosing to kneel on the floor beside her. Jake followed and stood behind him, probably in case David changed his mind and attacked. I didn't think he would, not now that he saw her. He loved her. Since my son was a Wolf, he was tall enough even on his knees, that he was at eye level with Janet. Not that she looked back at him. Her eyes were scrunched closed, as if to try and block out some of the agony she was in, but it didn't look like it was doing any good. "How long will she be in this pain," he managed to choke out.
"Approximately three days," Jasper replied.
"That long?" His face fell, even more even more, if that was possible.
Oh, this was too much. I felt so bad for my son, for both of them. Going over to my mother, I lifted my hand and she took it in hers. Squeezing it I felt reassured. We would get through this.
"That's the average. I've heard of the rare occurrence that lasted nearly four, but Bella's was little more than two, though that could be because Edward had given her a large dose of venom directly to her heart," Carlisle answered this time.
"Can she hear me?"
"Most likely, I can only tell you from my own experience, I'm sure the experience is slightly different for everyone. My own change was excruciating but I was able to keep silent through the entire process, in order to remain hidden. When I changed Edward, Esme, Rose, and Emmett they screamed at different volumes off and on for the entire three days. As for Bella, Edward was able to inject her with morphine beforehand and her process was painless. She managed to sleep through the entire thing."
"Why haven't you give Janet any morphine then?" David screamed at my grandfather.
"I'm afraid it's too late for that. It would have had to be injected prior to the venom entering her system. I tried with Emmett, but the venom burned off the morphine before it had any chance of working."
"I don't care if it didn't work for him," Dave continued screaming. "Try it again. It could work this time."
"If you wish, but you should prepare yourself that it most likely will have no effect."
"Fine!"
"I don't have any on hand, but will call an old colleague at the Forks Hospital and acquire some right away." He then left, presumably to call and get some.
"David, please, I know you're upset, but yelling at your family, who are only trying to help, is NOT helping," Jacob whispered to our son.
"I know but... I just... I... I just love her so much. What am I going to do?"
"Why don't you calm down? Take a few deep breaths. If Carlisle can do anything for her, he will. In the meantime, why don't you talk to Janet. Let her know you're here for her and that you love her."
"I do love her. I love you Janet," he sobbed, then stranger than strange, actually gave a small chuckle. What? "I've never actually told her that before. I'm never going to get a chance to hear her say it back to me."
"You don't know that. And you have no idea what she thinks."
"She loves you too," my father replied. "But she's in too much pain, I doubt she will be able to respond verbally to anyone until -"
"Can you see her, Alice? When will she... you know-" Jake questioned.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what's going to happen. Right now she's fuzzy. Maybe if you both were to go to the other side of the room, away from her," she said gesturing to Jake and Dave, "I'll be able to get a clearer picture."
"What does it feel like?" he asked the room instead of moving., like Jake had.
I know it was stupid but I wished I could have been able to give him an answer. But I knew as much about the process as him. Bella saw my guilt and longing to help, I'd accidently passed it along to her through my gift. She unlocked our hands and for a second I thought she was upset with me, but she just gave me a small smile and went over to sit next to her grandson. He didn't yell or move away, like he might have in the past, but actually rested his head on her shoulder. Wow! Bella seemed as shocked as me. "The Venom is… intense. It's like every inch of you is on fire, but it never dies down, it only increases and intensifies," she explained.
"How do you know..." Edward started to question. His eyes grew wide as he stared at his wife.
"I wouldn't think James' bite would have been a human memory you wanted to hold on to Bella," Jasper quickly replied before my mother could. "I'm guessing some pain you just can't forget," he added.
For some reason she looked relieved. So did Edward. Clearly I was missing something.
I was going to ask who James was when my grandfather came back into the room. "Edward, my colleague is at the hospital with the morphine. I'd prefer to stay and monitor Janet. Would you be able to…"
"Of course I can pick it up," he replied and left the same instant.
"You knew," Bella cryptically said to Jasper as soon as we heard Edward's car drive away. "Of course," she said answering her own question (I think). "You would have felt it with me. How did you not think of it back then or in all the years since?"
"Back then it was easy," Jasper replied. "Everyone was so wrapped up in other things themselves, Renesmee's mere existence, and then Jacob's obsession with her, no one really understood the imprinting yet, and of course Edward was worried about you during your transformation that it got lost among everything else. Once you woke up it didn't seem like you wanted him to know so I just didn't have any reason to think about it. Don't worry, if I haven't slipped yet I'm not likely to," he assured her. "But how long are you planning on keeping this from Edward?"
"It's just one more secret, and it's only for his own sanity. I don't want to upset him."
I really wish someone would tell me what was going on. Everyone else in the room seemed to know, judging by their facial expressions and head nods, and the occasional, "We'll keep it too," "I won't think a word," and an "Oh, that must have been so hard for you," from Esme.
Jake didn't seem to have paid much attention; if he knew, or had even heard, he wasn't letting on, he was too concerned about our son. And David looked like he had missed the entire thing. His attention was completely occupied with Janet. A minute later her body started convulsing. Carlisle assured him it was normal, and she would go through periods of more intense pain, but David gasped, climbed into bed with her, trying to hold down Janet's body with his own. As strong and big as he was he wasn't having that much of an effect.
Twenty minutes later Edward returned with the morphine. It was administered but did nothing. David wept, and refused to leave Janet's side. Esme brought in a chair, which he remained in for the next three days.
At the end of the third day there was no change in Janet's condition. She was still writhing and screaming in pain
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Day Four (Sunday) - Janet's screaming continued.
A funeral had been held for Scott yesterday and Brady's was today. Jared's Pack had attended, but none of us had left the house, with the exception of my grandfather who only left to pick up some medical supplies and food. Alice had arranged for the flowers, caskets, had the wakes catered, and most everything else. Billy had taken care of the formalities with their parents. And while Edward had paid for everything my entire family stayed in the house looking after Janet and David, only leaving to hunt when needed.
"Please, there has to be something you can do," David pleaded to anyone and everyone in the room.
"I'm sorry, I don't understand what's going on myself," Carlisle confessed. "It should have been over by now. Or at least lessened."
While Janet was clearly writhing in pain, as everyone in my family, save my mother, had done when they were changed, we all could clearly see that she wasn't changing. In addition to the enhancements to a humans speed, strength, intelligence there is the pure superficial side of things; a human's physical appearance is altered when they become a Vampire; everyone becomes more beautiful looking as all flaws are corrected.
While I hadn't seen it happen personally I remember what my mother looked like just after I was born, and had seen pictures of her as a human. She was good looking back then, but as a Vampire she became gorgeous. All Vampires have that in common - dazzling supermodel looks.
Janet, for all that David loved her, and as pretty as he thought she was, still looked like herself, actually worse since she was currently writhing in pain. And then of course everyone could see that her wounds – the bite mark that started this whole thing, and the other scrapes, cuts, and bruises she'd sustained in the process – none of them were healing, at least not quickly. Carlisle had transfused blood into her system, replacing what Stefan had taken, back when he hoped the anti-venom serum he'd developed would have worked. But that was probably the only reason she was still alive now.
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Day Five (Monday) - David finally broke down from Janet's screams.
"You did this," he screeched. He'd been practically numb this whole time, not leaving her bed once. It seemed like he could feel her pain on some level. Each time her body lurched he sunk a little deeper.
But now he seemed to wake up and while screaming, jumped on Carlisle. "Whatever you did, whatever you injected her with, that's what's doing this to her," he seethed as Jasper and Emmett pulled him off his great-grandfather.
"It's alright. Let him go," Carlisle calmed his sons. "David, I'm afraid you might be right. The venom and anti-venom must be fighting each other inside of her."
"So now what? Help her. Please. There must be something you can do."
Blank stares were all the answer he and everyone else gave and received.
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Day Six (Tuesday) – no change in Janet
"If you want," Alice hesitantly approached David, "I can try to see… something. The only thing is you'd have to move away from her for it to work. You block my visions," she sighed.
"If you think there's any way I'm moving one inch away from her you're crazier than I thought you were," David spat.
I know he was hurting but there was no need for him to be rude. But as much as I wanted to correct my son, I just couldn't. If Janet died from this, he would soon follow and I couldn't be harsh to him on his (possibly) last few days on Earth.
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Day Seven (Wednesday) – still no change
I called Felicity. Janet was still streaming in agony but not changing. She might still die, she probably would, and if she did, as much as it pained me to admit it, David would most likely find some way to follow. She deserved the chance to say goodbye to her brother.
Carlisle, Edward, and Rosalie, the three Cullen's with medical degrees had thrown themselves into trying to find a solution to the problem at hand. They tested their own venom, mixed with more of the Doc's anti-venom, and samples of blood from Claire to find out what was going on and possibly even develop a solution.
I don't know how they had managed that one, but Jake and Bella had gotten in contact with Quil, who was able to sneak Claire away for a few hours so that Carlisle could draw some of her blood - hers being the closest available to Janet's. Unfortunately all of their efforts had been in vain... so far.
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Day Eight (Thursday) – again no change in Janet's condition
Felicity arrived. Neither I nor Jacob could leave our son. Rose and Emmett ended up picking her up from the airport, filling her in on everything that had happened that we'd been unable to say over on the phone.
As soon as she arrived she'd asked for a few minutes alone with her brother. David had refused to leave Janet's side so everyone else cleared the room, save the three of them.
I'm not sure what she said to him, but when she opened the door, after they talked, David seemed to have a change in attitude. At least a little bit.
"Alright, Alice" David sighed over to her, once we all had filed back into the bedroom. "Please look and see if you can tell me when this is going to be... over. How far away exactly do I need to be? Can I... stay in the room at least?"
"How about you just go over into the corner," Alice suggested, as gently as she could. She knew, just as all of us did, how hard this was on him. She was probably going to look and find out when Janet's life was going to be over, how many more days of torment she and David were going to have to endure before she died and David somehow managed to follow by taking his own life.
We all watched as Alice's eyes lost focus, she seemed to be concentrating very hard; her eyes were scrunched, her brow creased, and then finally after a few minutes - longer than it had ever taken her to see anything before, she came out of her daze.
It's not like any of us were expecting her to look happy with the information she found, but she at least stop looking as distraught as she'd been. I wonder what she saw? This waiting was killing me. It looked like I wasn't the only one.
"Well Alice?" David asked rushing back to Janet's side. "What did you see?"
"All I can tell you is that it will all be over in seventy-six hours and thirty-seven minutes. I don't think she's going to die. I'm not sure what's going to happen, she just disappears out of the vision. It's not like she gets turned into a Vampire, then I'd be able to see her perfectly fine, but I don't think she stays human exactly because I can see those too. And there's no way she can become a Wolf, which is why I can't see you and why I can't see her when you're near her, but she's going to turn into another blank spot. Something happens to her, I'm just not sure what."
"Alice, I hate to say this, but she may not make it. Based on your vision, you could be wrong. She may die and she might disappear, like you saw, but it might be because all of the Wolves huddle around her," Edward theorized.
"What about the rest of us?" I asked. "Do we, or at least the rest of the family, look happy that she's alive? Or sad that she doesn't make it?"
"I'm not sure," Alice replied, solemnly. "There's nobody else in the room, at least no one else I can see. I'm sorry, it's very confusing. I'm... I'm sorry I even suggested this. I don't know what, but something is going to happen in three days."
"Well I guess that's enough for now. Three days isn't so long," Carlisle spoke up.
Three days! I could potentially lose my son in THREE DAYS and my grandfather was acting like it was a good sign. What the Hell? But I know he was just trying to comfort my son, in some way.
"You did your best Alice, I'm sure Dave is grateful for that," my grandfather continued, hoping that David probably wouldn't explode or get irrational over Alice's inability to give him a definite answer.
"Yes, Alice. Thank you. I know you tried," he said before sinking back down into the chair next to Janet.
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Day Nine and Ten (Friday and Saturday) - More of the same turmoil for everyone.
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Day Eleven (Sunday) - We finally saw the first hint of relief.
Carlisle had set up an IV to administer fluids (he'd given up on the morphine) on the second day. But I'm not sure if it was doing much either, beyond keeping her hydrated. She hadn't eaten in a week. Carlisle tried inserting a feeding tube but his attempts were unsuccessful.
Now at least something was happening. Her screams were softening, her body jerks were lessening, but she still wasn't changing.
Maybe the anti-venom was finally working.
"Please, please, please," David just mumbled over and over again to himself as he rocked back and forth holding Janet's hand, or waist, or arm. He would just continuously move around her trying to connect with her, like if he touched the right spot she would wake up and come back to him.
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Day Twelve (Monday) – Janet stopped screaming and was still.
Was this the change Alice saw?
If you didn't know she was bitten by a Vampire, one might have thought she was just sleeping.
"I think she is," my father replied to my random thought.
"What?" David asked. I hadn't realized he was even awake. He'd barely slept, or ate, himself these past two weeks. It looked like he'd lost ten pounds. He'd been so quiet, just sitting there, staring at Janet. In addition to not sleeping, he'd barely even said anything, only looking up when Jake talked to Quil every time he called with an update on how Claire, and Janet's parents were doing.
We hadn't told her parents what was going on. We couldn't really tell him about Vampires, but we also didn't want to give them false hope about their daughter, we still weren't sure what was going to happen to her, if she was going to make it through this human, or Vampire, or at all.
While Janet's parents had contacted the police with a missing persons report, Esme had called Charlie, at some point, to let him know what was really going on, so even though there were a bunch of cops out roaming around looking for her, Charlie had them stay clear of our house.
And Jared's Pack was dividing their time consoling Collin and his parents, along with Brady and Janet's families, and visiting us here.
Quil was doing the best he could to calm Claire down, but it was her sister, and they had finally connected once David had Imprinted on Janet. The four of them – Quil, Claire, David, and Janet were this tight little quartet that had become inseparable in the past few months. I hope this wasn't the end of that.
"She's dreaming about being trapped in a blizzard." Edward informed us, while covering her with a blanket. "She's cold," he continued. That's odd. Everyone had said venom felt like you were being burned alive. Why was she cold?
"I'm not sure, if she was finally beginning to change she wouldn't notice the drop in her body temperature."
David went to reach for her hand and confirmed that she did in fact feel cold to him. But that wasn't saying much, humans were normally cold to one hundred-eight degree Wolves and Half-Vampires. Now that she was still he laid down in bed next to her, hugging her to him, hoping his high body temperature could warm hers. Before this I think he'd been too afraid to hurt her. Esme offered to at least bring in another bed or cot for him but he insisted he was fine with the chair. It couldn't have been comfortable to sleep in, but he wouldn't have been comfortable no matter what so long as his Imprint was in pain.
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Day Thirteen and Fourteen (Tuesday and Wednesday) - More of the same from everyone.
Carlisle and the others had yet to find a cure or even an explanation to what was happening to Janet.
Her body temperature had dropped to 94.3 degrees. Other than that here was no change in her from yesterday. Her body remained cold no matter what David tried to do. He laid in bed with her all hours of the day now, hoping to pass on some of his body heat. We cranked up the thermostat in the room, brought in a space heater, and heated blankets, but nothing raised her temperature. She was shivering day and night.
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Day Fifteen (Thursday) - A change, but not one we wanted.
Sometime around 2am, while Jake and I were sleeping in Rose and Emmett's old room we were awakened by the sounds of my son's screams.
What now?
Jacob, and I, and most of my family ran to Edward's old bedroom and were confronted with a scene that none of us were expecting.
"HER HEART'S STOPPED!" David screamed as he pounded on her chest, giving her CPR.
OH NO!
A.N. I know, another cliffhanger. I'm evil like that.
So what do you think? Is this the end of Janet (and David)?
Please review and share your thoughts.