Disclaimer: This chapter includes direct quotes from Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer (Chapters 14 & 16). No copyright infringement intended, and I make no profit off of this.

I'm trying to condense as many straight-from-the-book parts as possible in as few chapters as I can, so this is kind of a filler chapter, but there's a lot of original content in the next update, I promise!

This wouldn't be half as good without bouncing ideas with palmofafreezinghand or as grammatically sound without the red pen of Alice's White Rabbit. Thank you both so much.

Visions Interrupted: Chapter 7 - Only the Human is Fed

Several hours passed where we all sat like statues as Bella and Jacob slept. At around midnight, I smelled a wolf approaching the house. The sound of its paws stopped in the forest brush, and there was a popping noise that signaled a shift. The rustle of plastic and cloth made me smile. Whoever was out there was taking advantage of the clothes I'd left for them. Human footsteps approached, and it was Seth who appeared in the doorway, looking down at Jacob, who was blocking the threshold, snoring away.

"Oh dang, he's passed out!" Seth laughed, and Edward and I chuckled with him as Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Geez, I was starting to get a little worried. It'd been a while since we heard from him. I told Leah he probably just crashed human, but she wanted me to check."

"Well, please, come in and rest," Edward welcomed him.

"Don't mind if I do," Seth replied, stepping over Jacob's enormous form and giving me a nod of greeting. "Oh, yeah, and thanks for the clothes."

"No problem," I chirped as I evaluated the outfit from where I sat on the floor. The clothes fit pretty well—Carlisle's size worked for him. I looked over at Jacob with his too short pants and wished again I could have dressed him more comfortably.

Seth sank into the armchair next to the couch, letting his tired muscles go slack. Edward seemed to relax a little bit in Seth's presence. Edward made no secret of the fact he considered Seth a friend—he'd even invited him to the wedding. The kid didn't have a bad bone in his body. Always sunny and positive, accepting and optimistic, Edward liked being in his head. The fact that Seth was integral to winning the fight with Victoria didn't hurt either.

Having both Seth and Jacob so close actually alleviated the pain in my head completely, and for the first time in weeks, I felt almost normal. I still couldn't see, but I felt like I could sort of function again.

Seth dozed in his seat until a particularly loud snore jolted both him and Bella awake.

"Asshole," Rosalie muttered with a tsk, upset that Bella had been woken. Bella winced as she gingerly sat up, and Seth met her gaze, his face concerned.

"Hey, Seth," Bella greeted groggily. "How's it going?"

"Hangin' in. How 'bout you?"

"Me too."

Internally, I cringed, as I'm sure Edward and Rosalie both did. I hated how she brushed off her pain, pretending it wasn't there. For his part, Seth took the high road and played along, making Bella feel at ease. They made some small talk for a while until Bella complained she felt cold. Ever the gentleman, Seth was quick to stand up and sit next to her on the couch so he could warm her up with his body heat. As he slid an arm around her shoulders, he commented, "Hmm, Bella, you feel a little warm."

Carlisle was in the room in an instant, an electronic thermometer gun thing in his hand. He scanned her forehead and read the results, frowning. "You have a low-grade fever, Bella—100.7 degrees."

"Yeah," she replied, biting her lip. "I was feeling really hot earlier, but being next to Rosalie helped."

"Well, I don't think it's anything to worry about. Your immune system has weakened substantially. I'm sure it's unrelated, a coincidence." What he didn't say was that she was so weak because she had been starving to death for weeks.

"Well, I don't get sick," Seth said cheerfully, "so snuggle in, sister!"

For the next two hours, Seth and Edward took turns regulating Bella's temperature. When she got too hot, Edward would step in. When she'd get too cold, Seth would take over. It went in a cycle until the fever eventually broke. Now she was sitting between the two of them, a cup of blood nestled in her hands. Every time she took a sip, I had to shut down my breathing. The rushing sound of the blood gliding through the straw reminded me of a pumping artery. It made my mouth water—it was so alluring. I knew exactly why Emmett and Jasper had taken to hiding out in the attic. The blood, it was right there, and I craved it. But the absence of pain in my brain was worth the torture in my throat. Nothing hurt more than the static. Still, I desperately needed to hunt, and I wasn't quite sure how long I'd be able to restrain myself for the sake of a numbed mind.

Glancing at the others, I realized I wasn't alone in my torment. Rosalie and Edward had both stopped breathing and were avoiding looking at the cup. Even Carlisle looked piqued; after all, it wasn't like he went to work without adequately hunting beforehand. His thirst was just as painful as ours; he just had centuries of practice ignoring it. Bella wasn't oblivious to our pain, and she tried to suck on the straw quietly, but that only made it louder, more noticeable. Jacob's snores picked up in intensity, and I focused my attention on that. Edward's eyes slid over to me, hearing in my thoughts what I was doing, and he murmured under his breath to the others, "Use Jacob's snores to distract you." They all turned their eyes toward the sleeping wolf, and the obnoxious sounds did seem to help us refocus as everyone's posture relaxed. Bella decided to just finish her cup quickly to put us out of our misery, and she sucked it all up, handing the cup to Rosalie when it was empty. She took it to the kitchen to rinse it out, and we all breathed a sigh of relief. Rosalie was back in the next instant, and Seth looked between us with concern.

"Dang, when was the last time you all drank something?" Seth queried.

Edward shrugged, and Rosalie glared. "About a month," I told him.

"Since they returned from Brazil," Carlisle added.

Seth shook his head, his eyes wide as he looked around at all of us vampires. "Nah, that's not okay. You guys need to go hunt. I'll stay here with Bella."

Edward was usually on his best behavior around Seth, but this time, he failed to hold back a scoff. "Nobody can go anywhere. We're on alert, remember? Your former pack brothers are coming to kill us?"

"Oh. Right. Well, that's a tough one." Rosalie rolled her eyes so hard I thought they might roll right out of her skull. "So, why are you even hanging around here? If you guys just go somewhere else, then the threat goes away too," Seth reasoned. "Sam and the pack are meant to protect the people in and around La Push. If you move out of state, he won't chase you."

"We had considered that," Edward told him.

"Going up to our cousins in Denali," Esme added, commenting from the kitchen.

Huh? I didn't remember this discussion. I must have been hiding in the attic when it happened. I cursed the static for making me miss important things.

"But I can't really move around a whole lot," Bella put in.

"Bella's right. She shouldn't be moved around," Carlisle agreed. "Besides, I'm an established doctor here in Forks. I couldn't just go somewhere new and have access to all of the medical equipment that Bella requires. I even have the authority to buy blood with my current credentials. Bella's going to need more blood soon—there are only a few bags left. We're going to have to buy more."

"Well, don't worry, Dr. C. Jake and I will make sure it's safe for you when he wakes up. Or, well, it's not up to me, but I'm sure Jake will agree."

"Yes," Carlisle said, more to himself than anyone else. "We have to hunt too—Emmett and Jasper can't hide upstairs forever. We'll have to see if Jacob thinks we can take the risk safely."

Dawn was starting to break on the horizon, and Seth's stomach growled loudly.

"Speaking of needing to eat, can I make you something?" Edward asked him.

Seth's eyebrows shot up. "You can cook?"

"Sure," he replied, hooking a thumb at Bella. Both she and Seth chuckled.

"Yeah, that'd be great, Edward. Thanks."

"Do you want to try eating something?" he asked Bella. "I'm making eggs."

She smiled shyly and nodded. He smiled back at her, and I could tell they were communicating something just between them, like they were remembering a private joke. It warmed my heart that Edward finally had someone to share inside jokes with, but the feeling was soured almost immediately when I remembered that he only likely had about four days left to share them with her.

He frowned at me as he headed off into the kitchen to join Esme, and I vowed to control my thoughts around him. He didn't need even more negativity than he was already dealing with. I heard him greet Esme with forced pleasantry, and she pretended to believe his effort, telling him about the lunches she was already prepping to set out later for the wolves. Esme couldn't be around the blood any more than we could, but she was more sensible than the rest of us and did things to busy herself, removing herself from the situation, like Jasper and Emmett were doing upstairs.

At around 8 a.m., the phone started to ring. No one ever called the house, so we knew it had to be Charlie. Esme flitted into the room at the sound, knowing it was her job to answer it, as she was the person who'd been communicating with Charlie the most, telling him we were at the CDC and feeding him lies. Carlisle looked balefully at Bella, and it seemed like he was going to let it ring out.

"Let me talk to him, Carlisle," Bella told him. "I feel good."

Carlisle reluctantly nodded to Esme, and she answered on the fifth ring. I kicked Jacob's foot to try to interrupt the snoring so Charlie wouldn't hear it. He didn't stop snoring, but the tone did change to a quieter one, so I was satisfied with my handiwork. Still, I was done being so close to the loud aspirin when I had a much quieter aspirin available to me. I moved to sit on the floor next to the side of the couch Seth was sitting on. Rosalie mirrored me at Bella's feet.

"Yes, Charlie, she's awake and wants to speak to you," Esme was saying.

Bella eagerly reached for the phone, and Esme handed it to her, turning to go back to the kitchen to help Edward cook. She brought the phone up to her ear. "Dad? ... Yeah, it's really me ... I'm feeling better ... No, you can't see me—I'm still really contagious. Edward and I are both in quarantine ... But don't worry, I'm really feeling a lot better. So, how are you, Dad? Been fishing with Billy lately?"

Charlie and Bella began to talk about mundane things, so my mind wandered. I couldn't understand how she was justifying leading her father on like this. It was so much worse to give the poor man false hope. Because even if she survived the birth, it wouldn't be as a human, and she'd never be able to see Charlie again, no matter what ended up happening. So, she was making herself feel better but destroying him in the process.

After the much too positive call, Bella hung up the phone, smiling to herself. She was so happy to have spoken to her father, but didn't she realize the pain she was causing?

A little while after she hung up with Charlie, Edward came in with two plates of omelets and bacon, one held a normal amount of food while the other was piled high. Seth's eyes lit up as Edward handed him the plate with the mountain on it. Edward sat down on Bella's other side and gave her the plate. Bella picked at her food for a few moments before shaking her head and pushing the plate back toward Edward. "I'm sorry. I just can't."

"S'ok," Seth said, scooping up her plate and adding her food to his. "More for me!"

Bella chuckled, and Edward forced himself to laugh along, even though I was certain he was desperately upset that she still wouldn't eat real food, and he glowered at me for picking up on it.

"I could use some blood, though," Bella said as if she read my mind. Rosalie was gone and back in seconds, a fresh cup in her hand. She handed it to her and sat back down at her feet.

After taking a long, agonizing sip, Bella's shoulders relaxed, and Edward asked, "Bella, why do you insist on talking to Charlie. Why are you stringing him along? This will only make it a thousand times harder for him to recover from your death."

"Edward," she cooed like she was talking to a wounded bird. "I'm going to make it. You'll turn me in time. We can avoid seeing him for a year while I'm a newborn, then maybe I can see him again."

If you survive, I'm sure we were all thinking.

Edward's jaw tightened, but he said nothing to refute her idea. Carlisle cringed at her words while Rosalie's expression didn't change. Seth seemed uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation, and he glanced over at his alpha's sleeping form. Nobody wanted to tell her that there was a 50/50 chance the venom wouldn't save her, especially if she was dying anyway. So, we let her believe she'd be able to see her father again one day, and we'd deal with the consequences when the time came.

Just then, Esme came in with a tray of enormous cinnamon rolls. Seth laughed at the sight of their size, loud enough that Jacob began to rouse. Seth took one of the rolls, and she returned the tray to the kitchen. The snores stuttered to a halt as Jacob's awareness returned.

"About time," Rosalie mumbled. "The chainsaw impersonation was getting a little tired."

"Hey, Jake's coming around!" Seth mumbled, his mouth full of eggs. Jacob looked around, confused for a moment, until he found Seth in the room, his gaze suddenly alight, glaring at Seth with anger, though I couldn't imagine why Jacob would be so angry at a sweet kid like Seth. He got to his feet and stepped toward his pack brother menacingly. "He came to find you," Edward quickly explained. "And Esme convinced him to stay for breakfast."

Seth tried to save face with Jacob; he seemed unsure what set the alpha off, and he was scrambling. "Yeah, Jake—I was just checking to see if you were okay 'cause you didn't ever phase back. Leah got worried. I told her you probably just crashed human, but you know how she is. Anyway, they had all this food and, dang"—he turned to Edward—"man, you can cook."

"Thank you," Edward murmured.

Jacob's eyes didn't lighten; in fact, he looked even angrier than before. I followed his gaze and saw what he was staring at was Seth's arm around Bella's shoulders. "Bella got cold," Edward said quietly, responding to my observation. Immediately, Seth slid his arm away from her and dug into his food with both hands. Jacob relaxed significantly as soon as Seth was no longer touching Bella. I wanted to laugh at his ludicrous jealousy ... still possessive of the girl who didn't choose him over and over again.

Jacob and Seth started talking about Leah and running patrols and eating breakfast, and frankly, I tuned out because I didn't really care. I wasn't there for the wolves' life stories; I was there for the painkillers. I tuned back in when Carlisle approached them.

"... if Leah's going to eat raw, I will too," Jacob finished, turning his attention to Carlisle.

"Speaking of hunting," he began, "that's going to be an issue for my family. I understand that our previous truce is inoperative at the moment, so I wanted your advice. Will Sam be hunting for us outside of the perimeter you've created? We don't want to take a chance of hurting any of your family—or losing any of ours. If you were in our shoes, how would you proceed?"

Jacob looked surprised to be asked his opinion. I suppose it would feel off to him for a centuries-old vampire to be consulting a sixteen-year-old wolf. This boy was suddenly in charge of our safety and protection. Lord help us.

"It's a risk," he said after a few moments, avoiding looking at the rest of us. Maybe knowing he was surrounded by extremely thirsty vampires weirded him out. "Sam's calmed down some, but I'm pretty sure that, in his head, the treaty is void. As long as he thinks the tribe, or any other human, is in real danger, he's not going to ask questions first, if you know what I mean. But, with all that, his priority is going to be La Push. There really aren't enough of them to keep a decent watch on the people while putting out hunting parties big enough to do much damage. I'd bet he's keeping it close to home." Carlisle nodded thoughtfully, encouraging Jacob to continue. "So I guess I'd say, go out together, just in case. And probably, you should go in the day 'cause we'd be expecting night. Traditional vampire stuff. You're fast so go over the mountains and hunt far enough away that there's no chance he'd send anyone that far from home."

"And leave Bella behind, unprotected?" Carlisle questioned.

The wolf snorted derisively, gesturing between himself and Seth. "What are we, chopped liver?"

Carlisle laughed to humor him, but come on, Jacob was a baby compared to us. Carlisle got serious when he said, "Jacob, you can't fight against your brothers."

"I'm not saying it wouldn't be hard, but if they were really coming to kill her, I would be able to stop them."

Carlisle shook his head, anxious. "No, I didn't mean that you would be ... incapable. But that it would be very wrong. I can't have that on my conscience."

"It wouldn't be on yours, Doc. It would be on mine. And I can take it."

The wolf was out of his mind if he thought Carlisle would ever instigate a fight where Jacob might have to kill his brothers. Obviously, that was a possibility, but Carlisle would never be the catalyst. Frankly, it made me a little nervous that he was so naïve and yet cocky at the same time, thinking that killing any of his former pack brothers wouldn't destroy his psyche for the rest of his life.

Carlisle, a real leader in every sense of the word, did just what I thought he'd do and shook his head firmly. "No, Jacob. We will make sure that our actions don't make that a necessity." He frowned, thinking for a moment. "We'll go three at a time. That's probably the best we can do."

"I don't know, Doc. Dividing down the middle isn't the best strategy."

"We've got some extra abilities that will even it up. If Edward is one of the three, he'll be able to give us a few miles' radius of safety."

I swallowed my inappropriate chuckle. Carlisle was crazy if he thought Edward would leave Bella's side for any reason. Everyone looked at Edward. And his expression had Carlisle backtracking quickly.

"I'm sure there are other ways, too," Carlisle said, backing up fast.

You need to drink, Edward, I thought to him.

He didn't answer or look at me, but his face hardened and his eyes tightened, and I knew he wouldn't listen. Bullheaded, stubborn, stupid boy. If ... no, WHEN she bleeds, you'll regret not hunting.

Carlisle continued, unaware of our silent exchange. "Alice, I would imagine you could see which routes would be a mistake?"

"The ones that disappear," I said hollowly, nodding. "Easy." They continued talking while I lamented the holes and pain in my visions until Esme came in with a big covered dish in her hands. She made Jacob take the tray of food for himself and Leah, and he did leave with it, but the look on his face made me think he wasn't actually going to eat it.

Eventually, Seth finished his heaping breakfast and went out to relieve Leah from her patrol. The probing needles quickly returned, so up to the attic I went. What had once been my solitary sanctuary was now crowded by two hulking males going mad with thirst. Emmett and Jasper had basically moved up there now that Bella was drinking blood frequently.

Ascending the stairs from the third level of the house into the attic, I was greeted by the faces of my lover and my brother. Their bodies were curled in on themselves, needing to duck their heads to accommodate the slant of the room. One of the benefits to being small, I could fit just about anywhere, so I never worried about that sort of thing. That's why this space was perfect for me and me alone.

I stopped on the stairs when my head and shoulders were visible, and I shook it regretfully. "No way guys. There isn't enough room in here, and I really, really need it."

Emmett was grouchy. "Come on, Alice, just sit in Jasper's lap or something. We're fucking thirsty."

"Yeah, darlin'," Jasper agreed. "I can't go back down there where the blood is all out and loose in the house. And everyone wants it, not just me. Everyone's need fills me with desire."

"They call it bloodlust for a reason," Emmett added.

"Probably best we don't talk about it," I reasoned as I came up the rest of the way into the attic and crammed myself in next to Jasper.

"It's kinda hard not to, Alice. It's all I can think about." Emmett was pouting now.

"Okay … let's play a game then. Twenty questions. I'll start," I dictated, smiling wryly. No way I would lose this round; they were never going to guess my mystery object. I was imagining a sumptuous red dress straight from Versace's latest collection. God, I missed shopping. This was the longest I'd ever gone without shopping since Jasper and I first joined the Cullens in 1950!

Emmett nodded, grateful for the distraction. I felt Jasper relax beside me too, and I was glad I could help them somehow. Emmett began to question me with our usual repertoire.

"Is it smaller than a breadbasket?" No. "Is it a living thing?" No. "Does it have motion?" Yes. "Is it useful to a human or vampire?" Yes.

"It's clothes, isn't it?" Jasper breathed quietly in my ear. I couldn't help but smile.

Emmett had noticed our brief exchange, and while he hadn't heard what Jasper said, he knew Jasper had said something. He glared at Jasper and protested. "Hey, his question doesn't count against my total!"

"Of course not, Em," I reassured him, "please continue."

"Does it flow?"

"Flow?"

"Yeah, like a liquid?"

I hesitated, considering the question. It was a dress, so it had fluidity. I supposed it did. "Yes."

"Is it ... red?"

Eyebrows rising, I was surprised he'd guessed the color. "Yes!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, my God, Alice, that is really sick," Emmett said, suddenly angry, his large hands forming fists.

Taken aback, I sought refuge in Jasper's arms. Jasper bared his teeth at our brother in warning. If only I could see! I could have predicted Emmett's reaction to the dress idea and just picked another object. I was frustrated, not just because I couldn't use my gift, but also because I was obviously so reliant on it. I felt its absence in every interaction I had lately.

Hurt and confusion clouded my voice when I asked him, "What? What's sick?"

"Using blood as your mystery object? I never would've thought you'd do something like that," he sneered, his eyes narrowed at me. "It's fucked, Alice."

"It wasn't blood, Emmett!" I defended myself. "It was a Versace dress! I wouldn't do that. God!" I was so offended he would think I would ever torment him like that.

"How do I know you aren't changing your tune now that your little joke didn't land," my brother sniped. This was not Emmett. He was usually so easygoing, and he never talked to any of us like this. Emmett's restraint had never been put through a true test, though. Sure, he abstained from humans, but if he got thirsty, there was always something he could drink if he needed to. Now, all avenues were cut off, the danger too great, and he was feeling the burn.

"Your mind is warped by your thirst right now, Emmett," Jasper said, reading our emotions and trying to level us out in the small space. "She didn't do what you think she did. It's the thirst messing with you. I know 'cause I can feel it." Emmett nodded, his shoulders relaxing a little. Jasper went on. "My question was whether or not it was clothes, and she'd confirmed it was, so she's telling the truth. It was always the dress. It was never blood. That was in your own mind."

Emmett clutched the sides of his head and squeezed his eyes shut. "God, I don't think I can take this much longer. It's right downstairs. I need it!"

"I know, man," Jasper sympathized. "I want it too. But you don't need it. Bella needs it. That's why we're up here until we can figure out how to get past the wolves to hunt." God, I loved Jasper so much. He would do anything so I could keep my best friend. Even resist an easy and guiltless human blood source in his own home. His force of will awed me, and it made my dead heart swell to know he did it all for me.

Emmett sighed and met my eyes. "I'm sorry, Alice. I shouldn't have put that on you."

Still kind of hurt by his accusation, I wasn't quite ready to move past it, but I knew I would eventually, so I just said, "Thanks, Emmett." The three of us kind of looked around at each other awkwardly for a few moments. All of our throats were parched and dry, desperately yearning for sweet lubrication. This room was no longer a sanctuary for me. It was almost as bad as the needles. "So, should we still play?" I asked cautiously.

"Sure," Emmett answered. "But Jasper picks the object this time."

We played a few rounds until I finally felt that beautiful wave of blankness coming to take my pain away. "Oh, a wolf is coming back," I announced with great relief, and I rushed down the stairs, away from the bloodlust-filled atmosphere to bask in my version of aspirin.

I heard Bella and Rosalie in the bathroom, and when I got to the top of the stairs, I saw Edward on the couch with Esme's comforting arms wrapped around him. Then, Jacob let himself in and took in the scene, seeing me on the second floor landing and tightly smiling a little despite himself.

"She's all right," Edward whispered, answering Jacob's thoughts no doubt. "Or, the same, I should say."

"Hello, Jacob," Esme greeted him. "I'm so glad you came back."

"Me, too," I said with a deep sigh, dancing down the stairs and skipping over to his side.

"Uh, hey," he greeted me awkwardly. "Where's Bella?"

"Bathroom," I told him. "Mostly fluid diet, you know. Plus, the whole pregnancy thing does that to you, I hear."

"Ah." He stood there awkwardly, rocking back and forth on his heels. The awkward small talk made me feel like I was in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, that carnival theme music running on loop.

"Oh, wonderful," Rosalie grumbled as she returned from the bathroom with Bella in her arms. "I knew I smelled something nasty."

Bella greeted Jacob warmly, and Rosalie set her down with care, Edward leaning over her, watching as Bella fought to hide her incredible pain. But we knew. We all saw through it. "Are you cold?" Edward asked her. Bella said she was fine, but Rosalie wasn't having it.

"Bella, you know what Carlisle told you," Rosalie said. "Don't downplay anything. It doesn't help us take care of either of you."

"Okay, I'm a little cold. Edward, can you hand me that blanket?"

"Isn't that sort of the point of me being here?" Jacob grumbled.

Bella beckoned him over to the couch with a smile where he took up the position Seth had left behind. Soon, Jacob's stomach rumbled. I knew he wasn't going to eat the food Esme gave him, and I didn't need my visions to know it.

"Rosalie, why don't you get Jacob something from the kitchen?" I said, unthinking. Rosalie whipped around to look at me, her mouth open in disbelief, a hint of betrayal in her eyes.

"Thanks, anyway, Alice," Jacob said with a hollow laugh, "but I don't think I'd want to eat something Blondie's spit in. I'd bet my system wouldn't take too kindly to venom."

"Rosalie would never embarrass Esme by displaying such a lack of hospitality," I challenged her.

"Of course not," Rosalie said in a sugar-sweet voice as she went to the kitchen.

Edward and I exchanged an amused glance. It felt good to take Rose down a peg. She was the one actively abetting in killing the girl we loved, after all.

"You'd tell me if she poisoned it, right?" Jacob asked Edward.

"Yes," Edward promised.

Do you think she'd try? I asked in my mind.

Edward looked left, then looked right, so that was a no. Then his eyes unfocused like they did when he was singling out someone's thoughts, and then he ducked his face to hide a smile.

This was followed by a lot of banging in the kitchen and screeching metal. Whatever Rosalie was doing was noisy and apparently amusing. Then Rosalie was back with Jacob's dinner, presented in a mixing bowl she'd bent to resemble a dog dish. "Thanks, Blondie," he said, actually seeming impressed with her handiwork. They traded a few barbs while I groused to myself about not having seen the hilarious food bowl ahead of time. I had to hand it to her; my sister was as quick and cunning as she was headstrong and tenacious, and I would have loved to be in on the prank.

The show seemed to be over as Jacob started eating his steak dinner, undeterred by the bowl (or if he was, he wasn't going to give Rosalie the satisfaction of showing it), and Rosalie started flicking through the channels on the TV ultra-fast. I moved to sit behind the sofa, listening to Bella's breathing even out as she fell asleep. Edward took the opportunity of Bella's unconsciousness to fill Jacob in on Bella's condition. I think Edward was grateful to have another person on his side besides me to pour his broken heart out to, even if it was his recent romantic rival.

I laid down behind the couch, closing my eyes, trying to mimic sleep and just take in the blankness as best I could. When I tuned back in to the conversation a while later, Edward was telling Jacob about Emmett's and my research.

"What did their stories say about the ... mothers?" Jacob was asking. Pain ripped through me as I remembered why the dhampirs never had mothers. Edward was just as speechless as I was, but Rosalie had no trouble responding.

"Of course there were no survivors," she said scornfully. "Giving birth in the middle of a disease-infested swamp with a medicine man smearing sloth spit across your face to drive out the evil spirits was never the safest method. Even the normal births went badly half the time. None of them had what this baby has—caregivers with an idea of what the baby needs, who try to meet those needs. A doctor with a totally unique knowledge of vampire nature. A plan in place to deliver the baby as safely as possible. Venom that will repair anything that goes wrong. The baby will be fine. And those other mothers would probably have survived if they'd had that—if they even existed in the first place. Something I'm not convinced of."

There were a few beats of silence, and then a long clanging sound rang out in the air. I saw the mangled dog bowl ricochet off Rosalie's head and into the stairwell railing post. "Dumb blonde," Jacob muttered as Edward failed to muffle a snicker.

"You. Got. Food. In. My. Hair."

I couldn't help it—I started laughing. I kept imagining what Rosalie's face must look like, and it was hilarious. Of course I wished I'd seen it beforehand, but it was almost better as a surprise, so for once, I was grateful to be like everyone else and live in the present.

All our laughing woke Bella up. "What's so funny?" she mumbled.

"I got food in her hair," Jacob told her, chortling again.

"I'm not going to forget this, dog," Rosalie hissed.

"S'not so hard to erase a blonde's memory," he shot back. "Just blow in her ear."

"Get some new jokes," she snapped.

"C'mon, Jake. Leave Rose alo—" Bella broke off mid-sentence and sucked in a sharp breath. "He's just," she panted, "stretching."

Edward called for Carlisle, and he was there instantaneously. Bella tried to reassure everyone she was all right, then made the same mistake I had yesterday in comparing the creature to Jacob.

"Do NOT compare me to that thing," he said through clenched teeth.

"I just meant your growth spurt," she explained. "You shot right up. I could watch you getting taller by the minute. He's like that too. Growing so fast."

"Hmm," Carlisle murmured, that medical intrigue coming through.

Now, I couldn't see from my spot behind the couch, but judging by the long silence, I was sure Carlisle and Edward were having one of their silent discussions. This was confirmed when Jacob demanded to be included.

"I was wondering about the fetus's genetic makeup, Jacob," Carlisle explained. "About his chromosomes."

"What of it?"

"Well, taking your similarities into consideration—"

"Similarities?" Jacob growled.

"The accelerated growth and the fact that Alice cannot see either of you. Well, I wonder if that means we have an answer. If the similarities are gene-deep."

"Twenty-four pairs," Edward muttered under his breath.

"You don't know that," Jacob protested.

"No. But it's interesting to speculate," Carlisle said in a soothing voice.

"Yeah. Just fascinating," he snarked.

And then Carlisle and Edward were off and running with their scientific theories on Jacob and the demon's genetic codes. I really had no freakin' idea what they were talking about. I went to college for fashion and design, sometimes mathematics, but never science or medicine—I didn't have that much confidence in my control. I inserted myself into the conversation anyway, pretending I understood and even rephrasing a few things the others said to sound like I was contributing new information. It was a fun game that no one but Edward was the wiser to.

Eventually, Jacob got bored or something and left again, and I couldn't be in the living room anymore. I gave Bella a conciliatory glance before rushing back to the attic and filling Jazz and Emmett in on Carlisle's plans to request a hunting window from the wolf. We were feeling cautiously hopeful, but then we heard the snap of bone and the commotion as the rest of our family tried to gently move Bella up to the X-ray machine. We listened to Bella's grunts of pain. We listened to them trying to figure out which bone broke, speculating it was her pelvis. I could feel Jacob returning—he must have heard the commotion too. The smell and the blankness were approaching fast, so I headed downstairs to let him in since everyone else was busy in the X-ray room. I opened the door and was met with a bewildered Jacob. Maybe I moved too fast? I wasn't sure.

"Hey, wolf."

"Hey, shortie. What's going on upstairs?"

I shrugged, not entirely sure what was happening but knowing it was bad. "Maybe another break."

"Another rib?"

"No. Pelvis this time."

I stared at Jacob's trembling hands as he took in this new upsetting information and tried to control his phase. Then we were listening to Rosalie's voice upstairs. "See, I told you I didn't hear a crack. You need your ears checked, Edward." There was no answer.

Rosalie was really taking this protection detail too far. It was so obvious to me that she didn't care about Bella as anything but a vessel for what she perceived to be a miracle baby. Whatever happened to Bella in the process was collateral damage, and she even had Bella's permission to allow her to die. If I let myself dwell on it, it tore me up inside. "Edward's going to end up ripping Rose into small pieces, I think. I'm surprised she doesn't see that. Or maybe she thinks Emmett will be able to stop him." Sadly, I knew he would, even though he didn't agree with her.

"I'll take Emmett," Jacob offered. "You can help Edward with the ripping part."

I gave him a half-smile. Then the procession came down the stairs—Edward had Bella in his arms this time, but every slight movement caused her immense pain. She tried not to show her agony as he arranged her on the couch, but she couldn't hide her pain from any of us. Rosalie came down next, followed by Carlisle.

"Carlisle, we went halfway to Seattle," Jacob informed him. "There's no sign of the pack. You're good to go."

"Thank you, Jacob. This is good timing. There's much that we need."

"Honestly, I think you're safe to take more than three. I'm pretty positive that Sam is concentrating on La Push."

Carlisle nodded in agreement. "If you think so. Alice, Esme, Jasper, and I will go. Then Alice can take Emmett and Rosa—"

"Not a chance," Rosalie hissed. "Emmett can go with you now."

"You should hunt," Carlisle said in a gentle voice. His tone didn't soften hers.

"I'll hunt when he does," she growled, jerking her head toward Edward. Carlisle sighed.

Jasper and Emmett were down the stairs in a flash, and Esme and I joined them at the far wall, ready to leave out the back door. Carlisle thanked Jacob, and then we darted out the door to finally quench the fire in our throats.

Note: If you haven't seen it already, the Emmett POV outtake, The Phone Call, has been posted under my profile as a separate work so as not to interrupt the flow of this story. I hope you'll check it out!