The Flower Moon

Year Eight, Chapter Thirty-Two

Everything Will Be Okay… It Has To Be

Jacob's Point of View

Before I saw him, or even heard him, I could smell him. Carlisle was back. Finally! "You got it?" I questioned as he made his way into the house. He'd been gone for hours, and I'd gotten antsy, passing back and forth by the front door. I know donating blood took a while, but he should have been back much sooner Embry better not have given him any trouble.

"That's our cue," I heard Rose say from somewhere in the house before she and most of the Cullens fled out the front door to go hunt. Good, no need to even be tempted. But knowing their preferences it was more likely that they were disgusted with the smell of Wolf blood.

But three bags? "Isn't that too much?"

"We had to stop halfway through so he could eat something, but he wanted to do as much as he could. Colleen is still hours away from delivering, so he won't be able to come here and didn't want me to have to come back again. Not to worry; with his accelerated healing he should be fine within the hour. Embry is a good friend to you."

Great now I felt even worse for what I'd thought and the way I treated Quil. I was going to owe both of them big time after all of this. "Yeah, how am I ever going to thank him?"

"I'm sure you will think of something. In the meantime I believe there is someone upstairs who could use this," he grinned, lightly tapping on the cooler in his hands.

"Right Doc, let's go." I turned so we could both go to Janet's room. She was awake and talking to David and Felicity. Janet still looked horrible and so did David, but it sounded like my daughter was trying to cheer them up with stories of her time with Nahuel and Leah and their endless PDA. Yikes! That was supposed to make them laugh? The little bit I overheard haunted me.

"Where is Renesmee? I thought she would be in here as well," Carlisle asked looking around.

"Relax Doc, she's just catching up on some sleep." I turned to my son, "David you should do the same." He'd barely sleep the past couple of weeks.

"I'll sleep when I know Janet is better."

"Well then let's see what we can do." As he moved closer to Janet's IV bag she got agitated. "Relax darling. Nothing to be afraid of. You're still… weak and I need to run some more tests to determine exactly what's going on. I'll need to draw more blood from you but I have some right here to replace what I take," the Doc reassured her, as he hung up the first bag.

"Alright. Will you stay with me?" she asked David.

"Of course. I'll never leave your side. If you don't want me too, that is."

"We'll stay too, if you'd like," Felicity said gesturing to the two of us, to which Janet just nodded.

She winced as Carlisle inserted the needle to draw however much blood he needed, but David gave her other arm a comforting squeeze and then kissed her forehead, which seemed to help her relax. After the vials were full Carlisle inserted a new needle to hook up Embry's blood. But as soon as it began to drip Janet's head snapped around and her eyes grew wide.

"What's that?"

"Remember I explained to you that we would need to replace the blood that I took from you?" Carlisle explained.

"Yeah I remember, but it's... I…" she didn't seem to be able to finish her sentence. What was wrong?

"After the transfusion I am sure you will be feeling much better. Blood loss can sometimes lead to the confusion you're experiencing," the Doc tried to reassure her.

"No... I…" she was shaking now, digging her nails into the mattress. Carlisle seemed to ignore her strange behavior, probably accustomed to it in all his years of medical practice, instead kept his eyes on the blood flowing down the tube, as it was about to go into Janet's arm. But before it did she ripped the needle out of her arm, grabbed the bag, tearing it open with her teeth, and began guzzling down its contents.

We all froze.

"Janet…" David gulped before slowly, shakily, backing up, over to the large window at the far end of the room and flinging himself out of it. I ran over just in time to see him land safely on the ground in his wolf form, and run into the forest.

Damn-it!

"I need to go after him." He probably just needs to calm down, but I didn't want him doing anything stupid.

"Of course, perhaps you should wake Renesmee up before you leave."

"Sure, sure," I hurriedly said to the Doc, as I ran to the door. I didn't have a lot of time.

"No, no Dad, go after David. I'll go get Mom," Felicity called, as she ran out of the room behind me.

"Thanks," I called, as I took off in the opposite direction.

"Are you feeling alright? Did the blood upset your stomach at all?" I heard Carlisle asked Janet, but was too far away now to hear her answer.

Renesmee's Point of View

"Mom... MOM... MOM!"

Why is Felicity calling me? I'm sleeping!

Opening one eye and glancing at my alarm clock I saw that I hadn't slept more than a few hours. That wouldn't have been so bad but I hadn't slept more than four to five hours a night for the past couple of weeks.

"Hmmm? What's it?" Could she even understand me in my slumberly state? Then I saw the panic on my daughters face. Now I was awake and began getting dressed at Vampire speed. Ten seconds later I was headed to Janet's room, my daughter filling me in on the way.

"Janet, how are you doing?" I asked after entering the room.

I guess what happened wasn't completely unexpected. I mean she was some sort of Half-Vampire now; it's natural that drinking blood was going to be part of it. I wasn't sure how David was going to deal with this new development, though. Hopefully Jake would be able to calm him down; talk some sense into him, and bring him back.

"I still don't know -" she shook her head. "Why did I do that? I drank blood. That's soooo gross, why would I drink it? It just... it just... smelled so good, I couldn't help myself. Why did I... Gross. Ew, ew, eeeewwww," she squirmed and then started to gag.

"It's all right, calm down," I whispered, while stroking her head, trying to calm her. "Carlisle will the blood make her sick?" Why was she gagging?

"I don't believe so. Physically she seems to be doing much better. And she says she feels fine, despite being… repulsed by her actions."

What does that mean? "So is she…" I didn't want to finish that sentence, not in front of Janet. She was already so emotionally fragile. Learning she might be part Vampire might push her over the edge.

"Why don't we talk in my office?" my grandfather suggested. "Janet, would it be okay if Felicity stayed with you for a moment? That is if Felicity is okay with it."

"Of course," "Yeah, sure," they both replied at the same time.

Once we were in Carlisle's office he explained to me that the blood she drank only seemed to return her to the state she was in prior to his extracting her own. Everything else - her low body temperature, slower heartbeat, and sweeter body aroma - were the same. He'd also discovered in his examinations that while her skin wasn't solid like mine or a Full-Vampires, her bones were. It seemed very unlikely that she would ever naturally break a bone again in her life. Having an Imprinted, Half-Vampire, thinking he was losing his Soulmate, and administer over the top CPR might be one of the only ways it could ever happen. Or if she decided to wrestle Emmett.

Carlisle also mentioned that those bones were already completely healed. He couldn't be sure if it was from Embry's wolf blood or whatever kind of half-Vampire she was now. And it seemed that her body now craved blood, even if her mind didn't.

Jake would be crushed. He was really hoping that Embry's Wolf blood was going to be a magic cure all.

"So what does this mean?" I questioned my grandfather. "Is she continuing to change into a Vampire or is this it? Is she going to be like this forever? Or start to regain her humanity?"

"It means I need to run more tests, I'm afraid, before I can give you any definitive answers. For now she's stable. I'll continue to monitor her. And someone should call Quil."

Quil? "Don't you think that having Quil bringing Claire here now is a little dangerous? I know Janet hasn't attacked anyone for their blood yet, but now that she's tasted some it might only be a matter of time."

"No, you misunderstand. That's exactly what I mean. We need to call him to warn against having him bring Claire here this afternoon, like was scheduled."

"Oh, right, of course. I'll do that right now."

After calling Quil I returned to Janet's room, where Felicity quietly informed me that Janet had been asking her what happened to David. She said it so quietly that Janet wouldn't be able to hear, at least I didn't think she would, of course she might have enhanced hearing along with the other changes in her. I don't think anyone thought to find that out yet. Apparently Janet missed him jumping out of the window. Not wanting to upset her even more, my daughter didn't know exactly what to tell her. Neither did I.

Jacob's Point of View

David, there you are! I'd been running all over the state looking for him. This was hard, him not bring in my Pack anymore, I couldn't see into his head as a Wolf. I only saw and heard what he wanted me to see. And he didn't want me to see where he was. After more than an hour of searching I'd finally picked up his scent. If this had taken any longer I was going to phase into my Spirit Form and find someone in Jared's Pack that was also phased to tell me where he was.

Dad I just can't talk to you about this right now. He started to run away as he heard me approach.

I jumped in front of him, cutting off his exit route. Please stop. Let's just talk for a minute. He started growling back at me, but it wasn't meant to be an attack. I know how it could look, two Wolves angling for position in the forest. But I opened my mind to him and showed him that I just wanted to talk. He didn't do the same, but at least he didn't pounce or run. I know this is hard, son. I know how you feel right now. When I first heard how Bella, your grandmother, wanted to change into a Vampire...

This is not the same Dad. First of all... it's what she wanted. This was forced on Janet, she wasn't given a choice. Second I know you loved her, but not as much as I love Janet. I was about to interject but he cut me off and continued talking. All of your pain went away when you Imprinted on Mom. I don't have that option. My Imprint is now the thing I hate. What am I suppose to do now? He said while collapsing onto the ground.

Are you telling me that your Imprint bond was broken? That you no longer love her?

How could that be? I don't know anything that would make me stop loving Nessie, Imprint or not. She was truly my soulmate in every way. What was David telling me?

I… NO! I... I don't feel that way anymore. The Imprint magic is... gone, or taken. He started growling. Stolen…by that LEECH!

My son was lying. I could feel it. But I wasn't sure if he was lying to me, or himself. David you're wrong. You didn't really give it... her... a chance. She's been like this since shortly after she was bitten, weeks ago. It wasn't until you saw her drink blood that you got upset and ran away.

What are you talking about, Dad? She's been exactly the same, human, just writhing in pain, up until today.

No she has not. I grimaced internally at what I was about to say next. I didn't really want to tell him, but I felt I had too. There have been many differences in her. You already know that her body temperature is lower. And there have been other changes as well. She smells sweeter for one thing. I'm not saying it's as intense as the Cullen's, but it's definitely more fragrant than it used to be.

He growled, getting up on all fours. Don't you think that's something I would have noticed? He was getting defensive now and was looking for a fight. I needed to find some way to calm him down, not wanting to come to blows with, and possibly injure, my own son.

David, I think it's that you're so in love with her, I began gently, that you didn't see, or care, up until now. It's just your brain, at this moment, that's trying to overwhelm your heart. She's still your Imprint. I know you still love her. You just need to give her a chance. She's still the same girl. Her soul's the same. And isn't that what you fell in love with?

It looked like he started to calm down and sat back on his hind legs. But then a moment latter he jumped back up. Damn. Now what?

How am I supposed to ignore the fact that she's going to try and kill half the Reservation, in some sort of newborn feeding frenzy.

What feeding frenzy, David? She hasn't attacked Claire, or you, or your sister, or anyone else with human or half human blood, since she woke up. Why do you think she's gonna start now? Just because there was one instance where she drank blood, which was practically shoved in her face, doesn't mean she's going to go after someone.

Yeah, and it doesn't mean she's not, either, Dave huffed. You don't know what's going to happen. This could just be the start. Maybe she hadn't realized how much she wanted, or needed, blood up until now. Once she realizes her bloodlust there might be no stopping her. And then whose job is it gonna be to deal with her? MINE! He growled again.

Now I think I understood what the problem was, why he was so upset. He still loved Janet, and he knew it. But he couldn't allow himself to let her hurt anyone. He would rather he kill both of them first, than risk losing a single life. He was so protective of humans.

You don't really want to kill her David, do you?

No, he huffed, seeing that I knew the truth. He slumped back down onto the wet ground, in defeat. But do you think I'm really going to have a choice?

There's always a choice... for you and her. Even if she's consumed with the drinking of human blood now, which you don't even know if she is, she still has a choice. She has her own mind. She may choose not to, just like the Cullen's. We'll all help her - your mother, sister, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. And Jared and the rest of the Pack too.

Maybe. But if she doesn't? If she can't?

Then that's something we'll deal with when the time comes. But it's not something that you should decide right here, in the middle of the woods, when you're so raw and emotional. Don't make any decisions right now. It could affect you for the rest of your life.

Dad, do you think I really would want to live forever if I have to kill my own Imprint?

That's my point son.

After a little more convincing, we made our way back to the house. A few Wolves from Jared's Pack were wandering around outside. When David and I had been in our Wolf forms one of the Wolves must have overheard our conversation. I guess that was expected, and might just be a good thing. I needed all the help I could get on this.

"Renesmee called and asked everyone to come home," Bella informed me as we walked through the front door.

"I figured."

"What's Jared's Pack doing here?" she asked me, noticing all the Wolves in her front lawn for the first time.

Even though they had been here, off and on, over the past couple of weeks, they still were not comfortable just walking into the house uninvited, and it didn't look like any of the Cullen's had offered.

"I did," Edward informed me, "but they seem to prefer staying outside at the moment. They feel that they might be needed in their Wolf form and prefer not to be in the house, they don't want to break anything, but they are anticipating that David is going to -" Edward's voice turned to a whisper, before cutting off entirely.

But I didn't need him to finish his sentence. I knew what he meant. And I told him so with my mind. I didn't want there to be any possibility, no matter how small, that Dave might hear.

"I don't think it's going to be necessary," Edward continued anyway. "I heard what the two of you said in the woods and there was one part that you seem to have overlooked." Then he turned to my son. "David, I know the situation with Janet is very stressful for you -"

"For me?" he yelled. "This is nothing. What about Janet? What must she be going through now? Argh! I can't believe I left her like that. But I don't trust myself around her, and in truth she shouldn't trust me because I don't see this ending well for either of us." He shook his head as he paced back and forth around the living room.

"That's what I wanted to speak to you about. You seem to be forgetting one thing." He quickly moved so he was right by my son, looking him in the eyes, but not so close as to make himself feel like a threat. "Janet is NOT a Vampire."

"What?"

"She's not a Vampire, David. It's true that she did drink blood, but she was repulsed by what she did. And she does not seem to have the bloodlust or frenzy that Vampires go into when feeding. And now that she's consciously aware of it, I don't believe she's going to continue, if she can help it. There were two more packages of blood that Carlisle had acquired, yet she refused to drink them. She did need the blood so Carlisle set them up... err, the old fashioned way, to deliver one of them into her system. She's still upstairs in bed, receiving the remainder of her transfusion. I would suggest you go up there in a little while once you've calmed down, to speak to her. I know she would love to see you."

"Wait, so what, exactly, is she then," I questioned.

"Carlisle is still running his tests, but we will have to wait for him to get more conclusive results from the blood tests."

"I think I'm going to go up," David said, smiling now.

Is he okay? I silently asked Edward. This isn't some sort of trick is it?

He almost imperceptible shook his head as David bounced up the stairs to Janet's room.

"I'll keep listening, but I believe he just wants to talk to her."

A few seconds later Nessie, Felicity, and Carlisle came down stairs and joined the rest of us.

"Hello sweetheart," Nessie said as she gave me a peck on the cheek. "David asked if he could speak to Janet alone so we cleared out."

"Nessie you look dead on your feet. Come on, let's go take a nap. You too Felicity. I'm sure Edward can wake us up if anything happens." Edward nodded and we made our way upstairs.

Even with everything that was happening, now that Nessie and I were laying in bed, and my arms were around her, I felt myself begin to relax. I could feel our Imprint bond – the pull, the love, the connection. All David had to do was listen to his and everything would work out. It just had too.

A.N. - So you may or may not have noticed that I changed the title of this chapter. I just think it works better.

There are just 3 chapters left with Book 3 and then it's on to Book 4. There were originally only two chapters left, but as I was editing the original version I just kept tweaking things, and adding bits here and there, and it ended up being 36 pages long, which I think everyone can agree is too long for one chapter, so I split it up. (It's going to have to stay together as one on the Sunrise version, but there's nothing I can do about that, as far as I know. I'll have to look into seeing if there is a way to add in a chapter in the middle of a story.

Please, Please, Please review.