"A beating heart." Bella finally announced and the vampires in front of them visibly gave a sigh of relief.
Yes! Thank God! Listen to it! Please! His heart beats! He is not an immortal child! He grows… he grows…
Those were the thoughts that the male vampire was repeating in his head. That was when Edward saw everything of the man's despair. He was reliving everything that had happened, and he was not aware that Edward was listening to everything in his mind.
Edward saw how the man found a mate in a human and even though he had planned to turn her, the plan was all thrown away when during a moment of passion, they went all the way and consummated their love and before they knew it, she was having symptoms of bearing a child. The woman that was carrying the child now turned out to be the man's sister and having been a nurse in her human life, knew what to expect of a pregnant woman and helped her with the pregnancy.
They monitored the pregnancy and Edward soaked in all the information that he could get as the man remembered all the things that his sister did. From the charts, the measurements, the blood diet, the ultrasound, even some extra venom that they stored so they could turn the mother once the baby would be born.
They knew how to deliver the baby but unfortunately, they were unprepared at how the child became too strong and while the mother was trying to drink her blood bag that was prepared for her, she missed the bag and fell on the floor, hitting her head and breaking her spine in the process. The sudden jolt stressed the baby, and he forced his way out of his mother's womb, and before they could even attempt to save her, they were already too late. The mother was already dead.
That was a week ago. The male vampire had mourned his mate but had kept all the pain for himself, not letting the child see that he was hurting. Instead, he focused on the child, converting his grief into love and determination seeing the child grow day by day and seeing his mate's eyes reflected in his son's eyes.
As days passed, his sister started measuring his child's growth and taking notes of it and realizing that he was growing at a fast rate, but they did not worry because the man had heard of a hybrid from his sire before, in passing. There was no other detail that he knew except that the hybrid had been around for 200 years when his sire had met him 300 years ago so he did not fear the fast growth knowing that it would eventually stop.
There was one thing that separated the child from an immortal child and the man could clearly see that the child was learning. Even just a few days old, he was already aware of its surroundings. He knew when there was no food available and they were surprised that the child could survive off of baby formula, although the man already decided that the child should eat as a vampire than a human. He was determined to teach the child the laws of their nature and he knew that the child was going to follow it and he was not going to let anything happen to him because he was the only reminder left of the mate that he was not able to save.
"Yes." The man confirmed Bella's observation. "He was conceived by my mate while she was human."
"The mother?" Jasper asked and his expression changed to one of grief and pain at the mention of her that Jasper almost took a step back at the sudden change of emotion, but the man kept his composure and merely shook his head, unwilling to say anything more.
They were amazed to see the child look at his father and saw him reach out his tiny hands to him which he took and placed on his cheek in comfort.
"We're sorry" Bella said quietly and then she turned to Jasper who nodded at her with understanding.
"No law has been broken today." Jasper announced and relief washed over the features of the vampires in front of them.
"Thank you." The female vampire expressed in gratitude.
"Now that our official task is over, may I ask out of curiosity?" Bella stepped forward, palms open in her side, showing them that she meant no harm, but Jasper still followed at a much slower pace, watching her back.
The two adult vampires looked at each other in confusion then the man nodded.
"How old is he?"
"He's seven days old." It was the female vampire who answered.
Bella's eyebrows furrowed. "But he already looks like a toddler."
"He grows fast, and he learns just as fast as well." She added to make sure that they know that the child was capable of learning, but Bella was looking at the child worriedly now.
"But his lifespan… if he's growing too fast… would that mean?" She wasn't sure how to phrase the question afraid of asking about the child's mortality knowing that in just a few years, the child would already be reaching the peak of his human life.
"He will be immortal." The father informed confidently. "A long time ago, my sire had met one like him and he was already 200 years old but still looks like he is in adolescent years. We don't know how it will happen, but we are confident that eventually, his growth would slow down until it would stop and become immortal like us."
"This other hybrid that your sire had met. Do you know more?" Jasper asked, now curious, but he shook his head.
"He only made mention of it once and never spoke about it again."
"Do you know where we can talk to your sire?"
"He's been destroyed twenty-five years ago but you can try heading to the Amazon rainforest since that was where he was when he met the hybrid." Jasper eyed him but then he nodded, satisfied that he was telling the truth.
"Hi, do you have a name?" Bella was now addressing the child, looking at him with a soft smile.
He turned to his father and the female vampire worriedly.
"It's okay. They're friends. They won't hurt you." The female spoke clearly and surprisingly, he seemed to understand it because he reached out for Bella which took her by surprise.
"Ahm…" She caught the child, and he crawled in her arms while starting to play with the hem of her cloak.
"Huh, he's slightly warmer than us." She observed.
"His name is Icarus." The father looked at him in adoration.
"A strong name for a strong boy." Jasper complimented and he observed Bella cradling the child comfortable in her arms.
Bella's awkwardness at handling a child was starting to show and she finally decided to return him to his father.
"It was a pleasure meeting you Icarus." Bella smiled, then as if just remembering her companions and the reason why the past Edward was here in the first place, she turned to the father.
"Your mate… I'm sorry to bring this up but… was there a chance that… she could have survived the birth?" She had to ask. It did not sit well with her that her counterpart might suffer the same fate and she was sure that Edward was already thinking that. Who knows what he had already heard from the minds of the vampires in front of them?
"There was." The female spoke and looked at her companion. "We already had plans of initiating the birth with the rate of how it was growing but a freak accident caused her to fall and stressed the baby out. She broke her spine and hit her head and my brother here had just enough time to tear the baby out of her womb before she succumbed to her injuries and there was too much blood. We also had to worry about not eating her and the baby at the same time." The last part she admitted guiltily.
Bella nodded. "We're sorry." Bella's mind was racing, and she whirled around to face Edward and saw him looking at her with the same hopeful expression as her.
As luck would have it, they have a resident doctor who was practically immune to blood and not to mention, Rosalie and Edward both have medical degrees that can assist with the labor. If they are able to prepare, they might even be able to deliver Edward's child safely and save Bella at the same time.
"Edward?" Bella asked. She didn't want to ask about what he had heard from them. She wasn't sure how they were going to react knowing that there was a mind reader with them that was listening in on their thoughts all along.
She could push her shield back and let Edward in on her head and ask him mentally but that was something she wasn't willing to share to anyone just yet.
"Do you have what you need?" She asked instead. Edward blinked, unsure of how to respond then finally, he nodded.
"I think, that would be all for now." Bella addressed Icarus's family.
"Thank you for your cooperation." Jasper told them.
"Thank you for not destroying him." The father told them sincerely. Bella smiled in response.
"There's nothing to destroy. Take care."
With that, they bid farewell and slowly made their way back to where they left their car. All throughout the journey back, Edward was silent, and they let him be. Bella shielded back the rest of the family so he can focus on his thoughts for a while.
Before they went back to their car, Bella and Jasper made a quick call to the Volturi to let them know how it went and confirm the existence of a hybrid. With Jasper agreeing, Bella had asked to be assigned to get more information about other hybrids that may be existing somewhere out there which delighted Aro hearing them willingly look into the matter.
Even if they would be asked to do it, Bella was still going to accept. Knowing that in another world, there was another Bella who was going to have a hybrid child, she wanted to know everything about them and part of it was also to make sure that no one was out there experimenting on half breeds by abducting human women and making them their personal baby-maker.
When they sat down inside the car, they looked at each other.
"So… what now?" Alice was the one who asked, finally speaking up after all that had transpired.
They all turned to Edward who frowned at the spotlight. "I… don't know. I still have two days left before I get back. I don't have any means of communicating with my world so I can't go home early and can tell them what I found out."
"Oh, hey!" Bella suddenly turned her head from the front seat. "Do you want to go to Carlisle? You can discuss with him about the pregnancy and about what you have learned. He might have some inputs that could help you when you get back so you can get everything prepared as soon as you're back to your world."
"Hmmm… that's actually not a bad idea."
"He's been curious to know about the hybrids ever since we told him about our mission so I'm pretty sure you have a lot to discuss. Not to mention… about your situation." Jasper added.
"Do they know?" Edward tentatively asked.
"It's just us. We haven't had the opportunity to tell the others yet, but we'd have to tell him in advance, so he won't be surprised with the sudden change of attitude." Bella announced and Edward grimaced.
"Are we really that different?"
The three other vampires all looked at each other than nodded in unison. Bella then looked at him worriedly.
"Everything is still okay between you and Bella, right?"
"Of course! I really tried my best! I've never been happier when I've finally accepted that we really are going to be finally together. I've even accepted the fact that I would be turning her soon and I was going to do it myself. It's just… the pregnancy…." He sighed. "It brought me back to the place where I was a few months ago before I met you… and knowing that it was me that caused all of this… If something happened to her, I don't know if I'd be able to recover after."
He felt Alice's hand on his shoulder. "Everything is going to be okay. You'll see. If she's anything like our Bella, then she's going to make it through and even if you're not like my Edward… I know that you have it in you to believe that everything will work out."
Edward looked up to see Alice smiling at him in encouragement.
"Thanks." Edward was at least able to calm down, together with a little help from Jasper from the driver's side.
Jasper looked from the rearview mirror and grinned at Alice. "You in a good mood now?" He teased.
"Now that we're not headed to someplace with species that can block me, yes, thank you very much. I can already see us in New York by tomorrow."
"I'm already making the reservations." Bella announced from the front seat. "Then I'll be texting Carlisle to expect a different Edward when we get there."
"Okay… since we have time before we get to Carlisle, tell me about you." She turned to face Edward with a serious look in her eyes and Edward was staring at her awkwardly, unsure of what to say.
"Ahmm… I'm not really sure where to start…"
"Let's start with your favorite place."
All throughout their car ride and even while on their plane, the three of them would take turns asking Edward questions about their world. Bella would ask questions about the events that have happened after she returned to her own world, Alice ask more personal questions and would compare it to her mate and Jasper would ask about the rest of the family.
For them, it was different from having Bella share her experience when she was the one on the other world compared to having someone from that world being in their presence and sharing their own life.
When they arrived, Edward was greeted with their familiar house in Rochester. Everything was the same as how he remembered it in his world. He still couldn't get over that he was in a world that was twenty-five years ahead of his world. The places were still the same with a much more modern look but there were already places that he knew that was being developed that way so it was not a surprise. What stood out for him though was almost everything that they do were now being digitalized.
There were too many people fixed on their phones, gadgets that he would notice as upgrades to the ones he already knew, places that have computer screens manning them instead of people. He was afraid that it was going to get even worse as the years progress and by then, it was going to be hard for them to blend in anymore in the human world.
Alice, Jasper and Bella walked in the house with Edward lagging behind while closing the door behind him.
"Carlisle?" Jasper asked in his normal tone and in an instant, Carlisle stood at the foot of the stairs to their right and walked slowly to greet them.
"I'm glad to know that you're all back home safe. I take it, everything went smoothly."
Bella nodded. "There was no immortal child but there was, however, a half human, half vampire that we were able to meet."
Carlisle's eyes shone with curiosity at that.
"Is it something that you're allowed to share?" He asked knowing that there would be things that the Volturi might not want others outside of their ranks know but Jasper went ahead and shared all the details about their encounter.
"Interesting… I really couldn't believe that it could be possible." Carlisle finally said after Jasper was done. Carlisle looked up and it was only then that he noticed Edward on the side, keeping his distance from the others.
"Carlisle." Edward acknowledged his father figure.
Carlisle turned to Bella. "Is it really true?"
She nodded and then even when it wasn't necessary, she went to sit down in the sofa, Alice following her move and sat beside her.
For a moment, Carlisle wasn't sure how to address the other Edward.
"Are you okay?" He finally decided to ask instead.
Edward's brows furrowed.
"I want to be." Edward spoke, his words held a much deeper emotion and Carlisle instantly saw the difference from the Edward that he had known. It wasn't like he was not familiar with this side of Edward. It was more like; it has been a while since he had seen this tortured side of him.
"Is there something I can do to help?" He genuinely asked. True to his word, whatever this Edward was going through, he wanted so much to help.
He'd seen his son break away from the beliefs, from the prejudices, the struggles that he had, accepting his fate in the vampire world, and it was giving him grief seeing this Edward looking like that broken boy that he once saw before.
"I would appreciate your opinion regarding Bella's pregnancy." Carlisle hummed in understanding.
"Would you like to discuss this in my office?" He offered.
"Carlisle, the rest of us are going to hunt." Bella announced, wanting to give the two their privacy.
"All right. If you could drop by Esme at the University, she would love that." He told them and the three of them nodded.
"We might as well take the car and go to Esme first, in case she'd like to join us". Alice informed that.
"Do that then." Their father smiled affectionately at them.
Before they left, Bella held Edward's hand briefly in reassurance.
"We'll be back." He smiled back in gratitude.
