Disclaimer: I do not own the Twilight saga or its characters.
I've had reviews stating how shocked the reader was about how the wolves attacked Bella while she was leaving Forks. Truthfully, although she was human, she is supposed to be having half breed babies with their natural enemy. In the books and even the movies, they tried to attack Bella before the baby was born and then the baby once it was born. Jacob stopped them by imprinting. Since that hasn't happened, he also is trying to kill her. As for why when they're leaving, the treaty stated that the wolves can't cross into the territory and they found out that night that the Cullen's were leaving.
I blinked, forcing my heavy eyes open. I was in a vehicle, I could see out the window and the height suggested a truck. The white hood told me it was a U-Haul.
"Bella?" A feminine, familiar and musical voice asked, relief clear in the tone."You're awake, that's good. We're on the road again, Carlisle thought it would be best, given the circumstances. How do you feel?"
"Like hell." I groaned, my throat scratchy and dry. It was true, my back and arms hurt. My head felt strange.
"Carlisle had to splint your arm. Your back didn't hold too much damage, neither did your head. You'll be sore for a week or two, but you'll live." She glanced over at me, her beautiful face solemn.
"The face you're making worries me. What's wrong?"
"Carlisle also said that the chance of you conceiving after the attack has dropped significantly. I'm sorry." She whispered, her voice and eyes filled with grief.
My heart sank and tears filled my eyes. She let me have the illusional of privacy to cry a little bit. Stress and then this is just. Ugh. I don't know how much longer I can take things like this happening. Attacks, fights, and stress.
We stopped at least four times for food, fuel and to let the human do human necessities in the restroom. Carlisle insisted on a check up during the first stop, to personally ensure my head injury was as minor as his initial examination suggested. He tried to apologize, but I stopped it. He had nothing to apologize for.
The condolences for my situation, were more difficult to refuse.
We passed highways and beautiful landscapes. Jasper called more than twelve times in three hours. The first three were apologies and making sure that I was feeling alright. The rest were to check on me and ask if I wanted or needed anything. It was sweet, but also a teensy bit much.
"Where are we?" I asked, curiously. Esme never told me where we'd be going and I hadn't studied the property too closely when making the choice.
"Nothern Wisconsin." Rose answered, cranking up the radio just a little. I didn't recognize the song, but it was decent.
We came to a town called Amberg. The buildings were a mix between the older traditional brick and newer constructions that had been around, my guess would be less than twenty years. I loved it, it had charm.
We passed through town and headed to the more wooded area, a good distance from town. We would be able to drive into town, or run in my vampires case, for supplies we needed both for the children and myself during the pregnancies. We were also far enough for Rosalie and the family could be their natural selves in privacy. It truly was perfect for isn't.
I gasped at the sight of the traditional home. I'd seen it before on the site, but I still found it beautiful. It had character, and I don't think I'd ever get tired of seeing it. I loved it.
Rosalie parked the truck and came around to help me down. The front door of the house flew open and the rest of the family filed out.
I smiled when Esme rushed out of the house. Her smile, however, faded when she saw me.
"Bella, what happened?" She asked, standing in front of me in a blink. She patted at me, fretting like any mother would.
"The wolves attacked her while we were leaving town. We couldn't get to her before they ran her off the road and dragged her into the forest." Carlisle answered, wrapping an arm around his wife's shoulders. "There isn't any major damage, she'll just be sore for a little while."
"Two wolves were killed." Jasper announced, coming to stand beside me, but not too close. I could fit two arms in the space between us, hand to shoulder. His entire body was rigid and his face neutral.
"Do you think they will try to follow us here?" Esme looked at her husband, worry filling her butterscotch eyes.
I hadn't thought of that possibility. Would they follow us to Wisconsin?
"I don't think so, they most likely wouldn't want to leave their territory or stray this far. We won't know for sure until later this evening. If they haven't made an appearance by then, they haven't followed." Carlsisle responded, kissing her on the side of her head.
"I'd hug you, Bella Bean, but I'd probably hurt you. I'll save the hugs and make them up to you once you're better, how's that?" Emmett had been listening to the discussion and now grinned noticeably at me.
"That sounds great, Em, so does going inside and settling in." I really wanted to sit in front of a television or read a book for a bit to forget about the past few days.
"I have a couch and television in the living room, and I've got a few things done in the bedrooms. I've left most of the decoration to the couples, as it is theirs to occupy. I hope you don't mind, Bella, but I called a local contractor to see what we could get around the area. He should be here in two hours."
"That's alright, I will be on the couch, reading Pride and Prejudice if you need me." I quipped before walking inside.
I sat on the tastefully brown couch and sighed in relief. I happily lost myself in the world of Mr. Darcy and the female lead, only stopping for nourishment and other human moments, until I fell asleep.
The verdict was in. The crash sabotaged my attempt to become pregnant.
Jasper and Alice took the news as well as could be expected. It was decided that we would wait for me to heal before we would discuss moving forward.
The non physical side effects of the attack were as lingering as the physical side effects. Namely, I was being treated like a porcelain doll again.
Which leads us to today.
The unpacking was going great, it would be going even better, if the damn overprotective empath would let me do my own unpacking. I know he's trying to be nice, but seriously? I can handle putting a box of books away, one by one if need be, if he opens it and sets it on the bed for me.
Speaking of the empath, he's staring at me right now as if he expects me to either start spontaneously spurting blood from every orifice or fall over dead or something.
I sighed, suppressing the urge to smack him. "Jasper, I'm fine. Please, please, please stop looking at me like I'm going to randomly keel over."
"I'm sorry." He murmured, glancing away from me.
I mentally smacked myself. "You don't have to apologize. It's just-I'm not going to break if I carry a book over to the bookshelf. You all are treating me like I will, though, and you're hovering. Have you already finished with your room?"
"Alice finished fifteen minutes ago."
"You didn't help?"
"It's best to steer clear when she's settling into a new house. We only get in the way."
"Oh. Did Carlisle ever determine if they followed us?"
"They didn't. They must have decided it wasn't worth the risk."
I sighed in relief. "Did Carlisle check Alice to see if she has viable eggs, yet?"
Cue inner flinch. Personal. Too personal. Bad subject change material, Swan!
"I don't know. She hasn't mentioned anything to me. I can ask her when we're done here." Jasper murmured, now opening the third box.
"This would go faster if you'd let me help." I commented, crossing my legs and leaning back onto the headboard. I'm glad that one of the things that were brought into the house first was beds and headboard. The human needed to sleep on something soft and comfortable.
"I would be finished by now, if a silly young lady would take it easy as the doctor ordered, and stop trying to work." He replied, glancing pointedly at me.
"Alright, alright, I get it. You want me to sit still and behave." I snipped, rolling my eyes.
"Yes, I do. You've been hurt and you need rest to heal properly. Resting does not involve running around the house, or a room in this case, unpacking or bossing around a coven of vampires. Resting means planting your rear in a comfortable position and staying there while I and the other family members pamper you."
"And if I don't want to be pampered?"
"You prefer to be independent, you're used to doing everything yourself and I understand that. There are also times when it's okay to let the people who love you take care of you, instead, when you're scared or hurt. We want to take care of you, Bella, not because you're incapable of doing it yourself, but because we love you enough to want to. Think about it."
Jasper put the last item and kissed the side of my head before leaving.
I had always taken care of myself, that part was true, and it made me squirm uncomfortably when they tried to take care of me. I didn't want to be a burden, someone who needed help a lot.
I thought about what Jasper said, a lot, over the next few hours. I was used to doing it all alone. I did look after them in any way I could, like choosing a house that benefit them more than me. Or my choice to give up nine months of my life once every two years, roughly. According to Carlisle the pregnancy would take ten months, I know it shocked me, too. Then the delivery and recovery, they wanted as close to a year as possible, because we don't know how difficult the pregnancy and labor will be for me at this point. They wanted me to rest, heal, and have a full check up before we even considered another pregnancy. Was it really so different to how I wanted to take care of them? I did it because I love them, why wouldn't they want to do the same?
I sighed and scooted myself off the bed for another of my check-ups, Jasper insisted that Carlisle give me a minimum of six in one day. He seemed convinced that I would have complications that would keep me from carrying or start bleeding spontaneously. The overprotective mother hen of a man was sweet, but did he really have to insist on so many check ups? I'm fine!
I grit my teeth and bore it, though, walking toward Carlisle's new office. He'd had Emmett build on it, so half was a normal office, and the other half was a fully functioning medical area. I had already visited the medical area more than I'd care to today, but Jasper had made himself clear. I could walk or be carried, either way I was going.
I sighed, climbing onto the clinic like bed and laying down before Carlisle prompted me to. I knew the drill by now.
He smiled at me apologetically. "Has your condition changed since our last visit?"
"No." I replied, he asked this question every time I came back.
"Have you experienced any discomfort or shooting pains in your lower abdomen?"
"No."
"Have you performed-oh, well, we can skip that one."
"What?"
"That question refers to your, ehem, sexual experiences."
"Oh." I think you could have fried an egg on my face, my cheeks heated up so much.
"Yes, well, let's continue." Carlisle sounded like he wanted to forget the conversation had happened as much as I did. He proceeded with the examination and what do you know? No change. Well, I wonder why? It's only been two or three hours since the last exam.
"Hey, Carlisle?" I hesitated, unsure if it was polite to ask what I had in mind.
"Yes, Bella?" He put the paperwork and folders back where they belonged.
"Did you check Alice's eggs?" I blurted, wincing immediately afterward. Well, Bella, that was just swell. Twice in one day, four more and it's a clean sweep!
Awkwardness, I swear, brings the stupidity out of me. Case in point five seconds ago. The first point, admittedly, was a few hours ago. You get my drift, here.
He paused, his hand stilling in the midst of sliding a deep brown folder next to a yellow folder. I didn't like how still he was being at the moment. It usually meant bad news, and I don't know if I could take any.
"Bella. . . Alice has no eggs, they were taken during her time in the mental ward while she was being accused of witch craft. It happened all too often, in those days, the doctors forced sterility on the patients. They believed it was an inherited trait in that time." I didn't miss how he sneered the word doctors, apparently he really disliked the botched title for those people. Can't say I blame him.
Horror gripped my body. They took her eggs? Made it to where she could never have children, even as a human? That was just terrible! Those awful, awful people!
"Oh, Alice." I whispered, my heart aching for my sister. She would have been such a wonderful mother! My heart hurt more at the thought of hearing such news now, after my declaration of intending to carry babies for them. I hated the people that did this to her, I wanted to hurt them back, but I couldn't. It was far too late for that now.
I didn't realize I was crying until Carlisle handed me a tissue.
By the time my eyes were mostly clear, the whole family was gathered in the office, faces solemn. I immediately focused on Alice, where she stood beside Jasper.
"I'm so sorry, Alice. What the monsters did. . .they should've paid for it. Someone should have taken their parts, or some other painful torture. You would've been such a wonderful mother, I know it." As I looked at her sad face, my sadness lessened and determination flooded me. "You will be a mother."
"But, Bella, I don't have eggs." She whispered, her usually chipper voice quiet and miserable.
"I know, but I have mine. You can use mine. I know it won't be as good as having your own child made of you and Jasper, but it's what I can do. Once they're born, they will legally become yours." I took advantage of her shocked silence. "You will be a mother, Alice Cullen, if it takes me twenty years to make you one."
"You would give up your own child, so one of us can have a baby?" Carlisle's shocked and touched expression made my heart hurt. In a good way. I knew he didn't think he was worth it. He believed he had no soul, which was bologna. This man, this family were well beyond worth it.
"Yes." I spoke clearly and firmly. I turned my gaze on Alice. "I can give you my child, I love you that much."
The thin woman flung herself at me, sobbing into my hair. "Thank you, Bella. I don't know how-"
"Anything for my sister." I meant it, with every fiber of my being.
Those words seem to have another reaction. Esme and Rosalie had to pry the little pixie off me so I could breathe, both women's faces were a mix of emotions. Touched, happy, sad and surprised.
Jasper barely refrained from hugging me, most likely afraid of hugging me too tightly with all the emotions floating around adding to his own. His face expressed all he wanted to say and convey in that hug. He was grateful and touched, very much so. And also still felt unworthy.
We'd work on that another time. For now, my sister was happy. I was healing and everything was as it should be.