35. Wake Up Call
Jacob tucked the basket of clothes under one arm, noting the additional plate of food on top. I followed Jacob's mind as he stalked across the lawn toward the trees.
...everything's all messed up... never thought I'd feel guilty for being rude to a leech... woulda hurt her feelings if I'da said no... shouldn't matter! They're vampires... care if I'm rude to a parasite, but...
He set the basket down and took the cellophane off the plate in his hands when he could no longer detect our scent in the air. He was intending to dump it on the ground, but when he exposed the food, the smell hit him at the same time his stomach gave an audible rumble. With the plate held right under his nose, he inhaled deeply and groaned. Shrugging, he sat down and leaned his back against a tree.
...dang, but that smells good... well, waste not, want not...
I couldn't stop my smirk as he began to eat. I wasn't sure if I was glad he was eating for his sake, or if my reasons were less chivalrous, but at least Bella would be pleased. He was about halfway done when Leah strolled over to him.
"Look who finally decided to join the land of the living."
"Hey, sorry 'bout last night, Leah. You shoulda woke me."
She plopped down beside him with a shrug. "Me and Seth had it covered."
"Yeah, you did. But you shouldn't've had to cover for me."
"Well, don't be such a lazy bum next time, ya slacker. Then we won't have to." Judging by the curve of her lips, the words weren't said with any real heat to them. She eyed him for a long moment before thrusting her chin toward the rapidly disappearing food. "I can't believe you're eating that."
He gestured with his fork. "Your plate's over there, along with a bunch of clothes."
She snorted.
"You can pretend it's roadkill if it'd make you feel better."
"I already ate, thanks." Her voice was sour as she glared at him.
"Deer?"
She lifted a shoulder and pretended to scrutinize the forest for movement.
"C'mon, Leah. This is surprisingly not awful. Eat."
"You gonna make that an order?"
"Nope."
"Well, in that case..." Leah stood, grabbed the basket of clothes, and tossed the whole thing into the river, including the plate of food Esme had fixed for her. She stalked out of Jacob's view to remove her own clothes, folding them neatly and tucking them into the crook of a tree before changing forms and darting away.
I sighed and thought I should recommend any further meals my mother wanted to give to the wolf girl be served on paper plates. I didn't care about the clothes, but Bella needed plates from which to eat.
When Seth and Bella had finished their breakfast, Esme took their plates to clean, and we all sat in companionable silence as we watched the sunrise through the large wall of windows. With a belly full of food and having spent much of the past day running, Seth's eyes began to glaze over. Before long, he was stifling a yawn while he shook his head and blinked.
"The bed in my room is available, Seth. No one would disturb you if you'd like to take a nap."
"Nah, I'm not sleepy just yet. Thanks, though."
Alice giggled when he sat up straighter and attempted to look more awake. ...like a kid allowed to stay up past his bedtime...
Carlisle came back into the living room and took note of Bella's posture, her alert eyes, and pink cheeks. "How are you feeling this morning, Bella?"
"Great. Better than I have all week, actually."
"I am glad to hear that. And your rib?"
"Oh, it's fine. I don't even notice it."
Seth's brow furrowed. What's up with her rib?
"The fetus broke it," I said flatly.
He glanced at me, realized I was answering his unspoken question, and turned his wide eyes onto Bella. "The baby broke your rib?"
Bella shrugged dismissively. "It's fine. It was just a crack, and anyway, Carlisle taped it up so I can't even feel it."
"Then why were you wincing when I sat beside you?"
"A woman's body goes through many changes during pregnancy," Rosalie said as she shot him a glare. "Bella's body is making a lot of adjustments in a very short time frame. It's only to be expected that she's a little tender."
"'Tender'!"
"No, that's about right; I just feel a bit tender. Well, and huge." She laughed half-heartedly, but when no one seemed to share her amusement, she quickly continued, "Mostly it's just hard to move, but I'm fine, Edward. Really."
Unable to stop my low growl, I looked away from them and gritted my teeth.
Seeing that I wasn't going to argue further, Carlisle turned to speak to the girl at my side. "May I examine you, Bella?"
She bit her lip. "I need to use the bathroom first."
"Of course. I will wait for you upstairs. Rose?"
Alice, Seth, and I stood from where we were seated in order to make it easier for Rosalie to lift Bella into her arms. I would have preferred to be the one helping her, but had a feeling that using the bathroom was something a woman should help her with, whether I was her husband or not.
"Think I'll go check on Jazz," Alice said as she flitted from the room.
When we were alone, Seth spoke quietly. "It broke her rib?"
I nodded and sank back to the couch. "Yesterday. Just before Jacob fell asleep."
"Huh." He sat beside me and thought of how she'd looked when Jacob had first seen her. He poked the empty cup she'd left propped in the corner of the couch. "Drinking that's really helping her."
I shrugged. "It's helped them both, but that's not necessarily a good thing as far as it is concerned."
"Because of her rib?"
I nodded.
"Yeah."
His mind wandered back to the conversation Carlisle and Jacob had had about hunting. He thought of the meal he'd just eaten and then pictured the mountains of food his pack had devoured every time they'd gotten together at Emily's.
...pack'll eat every chance we get, but it's been days since any of them left... gonna do if they can't leave? ...have blood here I guess they don't really have to go -
"No, Seth. That was meant for the surgery Carlisle was expecting to perform before Bella insisted on keeping the - it. Freely donated or not, none of us would drink it. Bella's circumstances are... unusual."
"You can say that again." ...don't really know anything about vampires 'cept what our tribe passed down... most of that was about how to kill 'em, not how to keep 'em alive... how long... He glanced at me, seeming to remember that I could hear his thoughts. "Nevermind. Not my business."
Shrugging, I smiled slightly. "It's alright. We don't need sustenance every day like a human does. I usually go two weeks between meals. That's pushing it for Jasper, but Carlisle can go longer."
...meals... guess that's one way to describe it. Well, deer blood or deer meat, I guess it's pretty much the same.
I couldn't help but to laugh, though it was short and humorless. "That's Carlisle's philosophy."
His eyes flashed to my face and noted the black color of my eyes. I was surprised when he seemed to understand the significance. Bella was the only one I had met who had made the connection between my eye color and feeding habits.
"Has it been two weeks?"
"Nearly, but it doesn't matter; I'm not thirsty," I said in a hard voice.
My family member's faces flickered across his mind, and all of their eyes were much darker gold than the bright yellow he remembered them being at the wedding.
Swallowing my venom, evidence of the lie I'd spoken, I agreed with a sigh, "Yes. They are."
"Well, hopefully Jacob will be able to give you a green light soon."
I grunted in agreement.
"Maybe..." ...when he does... I don't think you should come back.
"I am not going. Didn't I just say I wasn't thirsty?"
...not what I meant...
I felt bad for being short with him and muttered, "Sorry."
"Don't be, man. I get it. What I'm sayin' is... When Jacob says you're clear to go, you should all go. Leave. Take Bella up to Tanya's place or something. Pack up and go somewhere Sam can't find you. Even if the baby doesn't... I mean..." Bella can't be planning to survive this human.
"No. She isn't. But we can't move her now. She's better, yes, but you saw how she reacted to you sitting on the couch beside her. No matter how carefully we drove, leaving would put her in even greater danger than she is already. We can't go anywhere until it's born."
...guess that makes sense...
Upstairs, Carlisle began to examine Bella. She wore an expression of happiness and excitement that made my chest ache. Unable to bear seeing the love she felt for the thing which would take her away from me, I concentrated on ignoring my father's mind by distracting myself with Seth's.
He frowned and thought of the wedding again, but this time, it was the confrontation between Jacob and myself he was remembering, as well as the warning I'd been given. Quil had said if I brought Bella back from our honeymoon in any condition other than human, they would not even bother trying to stop Jacob from killing me.
...had to know the pack would find out about this sooner or later... why didn't they go when they had the chance?
"We came home so Carlisle could save her. I had expected him to remove it! We would've left almost as soon as Bella woke afterward. Of course, that was before I understood that she wanted to keep it."
"But once you did... Bella was healthier when you got here, right? She didn't get sick like this overnight, did she?"
"No. It happened fast, but no, it wasn't overnight."
"So, I guess I just don't get why you're still here. You could've run, then. Once you found out what she wanted. She could've had the baby anywhere, and none of us would've known."
"True, but there are advantages we have here which we wouldn't elsewhere. Carlisle's a practicing doctor at the hospital in Forks and has privileges which would be unavailable to him if we left. It takes time to get established with a new hospital - time Bella doesn't have. Before Jacob came here, he'd been able to take her blood in for testing, and he was able to get medications, equipment, whatever he needed to try to treat her, even if none of it worked. And now, now that we know it's blood she needs, he has access to that too, and he wouldn't if we went anywhere else."
He was quiet for a moment, seeming not to want to ask the questions in his mind, but I heard them anyway.
Will he be able to get enough? And how much is it gonna need?
"I don't know. She's nearly gone through the supply he brought home already. Mixing babies and blood is complicated and dangerous. He's not transfusing it to either of them, but he thinks it's best to stick with O negative, just in case, and there just aren't that many available."
"There's no guarantee this can happen even once, but twice?" He shook his head. "If Sam catches your scent outside of the perimeter we've set up, chances are he'll start circling your place instead of the rez, if he isn't already."
I nodded in acknowledgment.
"So what happens when Bella runs out next time?"
Carlisle came back downstairs then, followed by Rosalie, who had Bella in her arms. Rose's steps were so smooth, she seemed to glide down the stairs, but Bella's lips were pressed tight together, as if holding back cries of pain. Moving Bella at all was dangerous. I wished she would just consent to stay upstairs, but she hated the hospital feeling of the exam room and insisted that a little discomfort while going up and down the stairs was well worth it.
How could any of us argue with that? If anything gave her some comfort, who could deny her?
My father had been listening to our conversation, and as he descended the stairs, he answered for me. "Forks Hospital is not my only resource. I intend to call on every hospital in the area as well as the local Red Cross hub. If I have to, I will buy every available unit in the state to see Bella through her pregnancy."
"Buy? You're going to buy blood?"
"Certainly. Transfusing blood is essentially the same as administering medication, financially speaking. There is much that goes into preparing a donated unit for patient use, so that, although it can only be freely donated, it is not free. I cannot leave my hospital with nothing for our patients, but if I spread my purchases to the greater network, no one will be put through any hardships, and Bella will still have enough."
"For the next few days, perhaps," I muttered as Seth and I stood. She'd been drinking it almost non-stop, and I didn't think the Red Cross would be able to meet the demands of the creature if its needs increased as it grew.
"I doubt her pregnancy will last much longer than that, son. The blood has sped its growth rate."
I felt my eyes grow wide in alarm as Rosalie deposited my pregnant wife back onto the couch. "To what?"
"She's gained two centimeters since this time yesterday."
I groaned as I sank down to sit on the edge of the couch beside her.
Bella's gentle hands traced circles on my back. "That's a good thing, Edward. The faster he's born, the better for me, right?"
"Right."
Seth was eyeing her with concern as he took the chair across from us. Rosalie retrieved the pile of blankets and began to tuck them about Bella again, but I turned toward them with a frown.
"Do you still need those? You're sweating."
"She's running a fever," Rosalie said.
"You're ill? With what?" I looked at my Bella with a new sense of dread. I should have paid attention to the exam! If she caught so much as a cold and started sneezing or coughing, I could only imagine the reaction the creature within her would have. She could barely move as it was!
"I do not know, son. With the stress her body is undergoing right now, even the most innocuous of normal flora could have taken the opportunity to proliferate. As of now, her only symptom is the fever, which could be an indication of illness, or a reaction to the blood, or it could simply be in reaction to the baby and how hard her body is working."
"It's not a big deal, Edward. It's just a low fever. Lucky me, I have Seth here to keep me warm, and you to cool me off."
"Lucky," I repeated dully.
"I'm a little too warm right now," Bella hinted with a small smile.
Unable to resist the look in her eyes, I forced myself to return her smile. "Come here, then," I invited her and leaned back so that I could pull her against my chest. Strangely, I began to feel an odd tingling warmth all over me, almost like my skin felt an echo of her fever. But that was absurd. I was ice cold as always; I could tell the difference between our skin temperatures as soon as Bella touched me.
She pressed herself against me with a sigh and closed her eyes. Wiping the sweat from her face, I hoped she'd be able to nap again, but the telephone rang before she had the chance, and she opened her eyes. Biting her lip, she looked at the place where - a moment earlier - Carlisle had been standing. "What do you want to bet that's Charlie?"
"It's a little early for Renee to be calling."
"Charlie? Renee?" Seth was staring at Bella with a frown. "You aren't planning on telling them you're pregnant, are you?"
I answered for her, "No, of course not." From the kitchen, I could clearly hear Carlisle's conversation and grunted. "It's not him this time. The hospital's calling to check up on Carlisle. He's never missed a day of work before, and this long absence has them concerned."
"It probably won't be long before we hear from him. I think Charlie knows something's going on that we're not telling him. Lying doesn't exactly come naturally to me."
"I'm sure you are right. He may have pretended to believe your lies before, but this..."
Seth made a low, nervous sounding hum. "Charlie told Billy that Bella had a rare disease, but to be honest, I'm kinda surprised he hasn't been over here trying to break the door down."
"Carlisle has been insisting that Bella remain in quarantine. Renee has checked in a few times and offered to fly across the country, but Bella was able to dissuade her. Charlie is being much more persistent, but Carlisle can be persuasive and has convinced him that it is too dangerous for him to come over."
"Yeah, but I think that backfired, because now he's worried I'm even worse than we've told him."
"What other choice did we have? He can't come here."
"I think he will anyway."
I met her eyes in alarm.
"He's a cop, Edward. He knows I'm sick, and he's worried. He's not going to be concerned about his own safety if we can't convince him not to worry about mine."
"Hmm. Maybe you should tell him we're taking you to a hospital after all. He was pushing for that a few days ago; if he thinks we've left, we wouldn't have to worry about him showing up here."
She nodded, frowning, and I thought she might have been worried about lying to her father. As lying was part of being a vampire, I didn't think it was the act itself that bothered her, but her ability to do so convincingly.
"Um, Rose?"
My sister blinked at her in surprise. "Do you need the bathroom again?"
"No." Bella's eyes darted to the empty cup. "But I'm - he's - we're thirsty."
Rose smiled her understanding. "I'll be right back." She glared at me before leaving. ...try anything stupid. I do mean right back...
I felt my lips curl and wondered if she'd ever trust me again. Not that she had any reason to, but her continuous taunts were wearing on my already thin nerves.
She darted away, returning to hand Bella hew newly filled cup just before Carlisle came back into the living room, rubbing his forehead.
...that I don't appreciate their concern, but the worst thing they could do right now is come to check on us... aside from needing to restock Bella's supply, I have to stop by the hospital soon... think Edward is correct, though. Her father needs to think we are not here before he decides to pay us a visit despite my warnings.
I grunted in agreement. "Well, hopefully Jacob will find that it's safe to leave the perimeter they've established, and you can take care of everything in one trip."
"Actually, I am rather glad they called."
"I heard. And so did Esme, by the way."
I knew you would, but Esme will understand, and I am sure Bella would like some reassurance, too.
"So, what's stopping you?"
He eyed me, but I didn't have the patience to be polite or apologize for my tone, and I met his gaze with a glare. He decided not to press me and shot Rosalie an apologetic glance before turning his gentle smile onto Bella. "While I dislike lying about such things, I told my supervisor that Esme has had a miscarriage, and her bleeding had yet to subside."
Rosalie gasped. "You told him what?"
"I had to give them an explanation for the blood use, Rosalie; what would you rather I have said? Any injury severe enough to require the amount of blood I have asked for would require hospitalization, no matter the other circumstances."
My sister continued to scowl at him, but gestured for him to continue.
His eyes met Bella's again. "I blamed your illness for her loss and as an explanation for why I couldn't bring her into the hospital for treatment. They are placing an order that should keep you and the fetus supplied with as much blood as you can drink. It should be there before the day is out, so we can leave whenever Jacob says it is safe to do so."
The phone rang again, and a look of annoyance briefly crossed my father's face before he returned to the kitchen to retrieve the phone. ...why I left it in there...
"That's Charlie," Bella said with confidence. "It's gotta be."
I chuckled and pressed my lips into her hair as soon as I heard his voice coming through the speaker. Bella's father had sounded angrier each time he called, and I was sure he was tired of being told to stay away from his daughter, especially as she had been sedated and unable to speak to him the last time he'd called. Before that, she'd sounded so sick, her voice scratchy and weak. He would be able to hear the improvement, but that was probably going to make him more insistent that he be allowed to see her. Both Carlisle and Bella would have to be convincing to keep him from coming over.
"...because she won't be here, Charlie."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"We are leaving in a few minutes."
"Leaving. I thought you said Bella was under quarantine! Where the hell do you think you're going with my daughter?"
"Charlie - "
"Look, Carlisle, just because she married that boy of yours, does not mean I'm not still responsible for her!"
"Of course you are, Charlie. Just listen to me, please. Bella's condition has stabilized, but she is still unwell. It is not wise for you to risk your own health. I am only asking for your patience until I can be assured of your safety."
"I'll thank you to let me make the decisions about my own safety, damn it. If it's safe enough for you to be around her, then by God, there is no reason why I shouldn't be allowed to come by."
"Yes, there is, Charlie. We have all been exposed already, and Esme and Rosalie are showing signs of having the illness. I cannot allow you to risk spreading this to the population. Your own safety aside, you cannot put others at risk like that."
He grumbled unintelligible half-words before he refuted, "How exactly does that fit in with you leaving? Won't you be exposing people?"
Wanting to make sure Bella heard the lies he was telling her father, Carlisle returned to the living room. "We will be staying under strict quarantine while we travel. There are enough of us to switch off driving duties so that we can just go straight to the CDC without needing to stop for anything other than gas. And when we do that, we will take precautions so as not to contaminate anyone."
"Wait. The CDC? The Center for Disease Control? You're taking her to Atlanta?"
"That's right."
"Jesus, Carlisle. You're taking Bella there? It's that serious?" His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Potentially, yes. And I am taking my whole family there, not just Bella."
"But you said she'd stabilized..."
"She has, but..." Carlisle sighed, sounding as weary as any overworked doctor. "I do not want to bore you with a lot of technical medical details. I have contacts there, and the pathologists believe it is in everyone's best interests if they be allowed to see her personally. Esme and Rosalie, too."
"You still haven't told me what's making her so sick."
"We do not have a name for it, as of yet."
"I dunno, Carlisle. I don't think a long trip like that is a good idea. Seattle is so much closer, can't you just..."
"They are not set up to handle this."
"They're a hospital, aren't they? They can keep them in sterile rooms and - "
"No. It would not be good enough to assure containment. The risk is too high."
"And what about the risk to Bella?"
"She will be under the care of the best doctors in the world, Charlie. You cannot ask for anything more than that."
"The hell I can't!"
"You coming with us is not an option."
There was only silence from his end.
"Charlie? I insist. Do not come here."
"Let me talk to her. I don't care if she is sleeping. This time, damn it, you wake her up and let me speak with my daughter!"
"Make it good," I whispered into her ear as Carlisle offered Bella the phone.
She cleared her throat and carefully repositioned herself so that she sat straighter before taking the phone. "Hey, Dad."
"Bella." I could hear the relief in his voice as he breathed her name. "Jesus, kid, you had me worried."
"Sorry I missed your call yesterday. Edward told me when I woke up, but it was so late, and I didn't want to wake you."
That much was true, at least. I smiled slightly, wondering if she would end up needing to lie to him at all.
"I wish you would've called! I was up half the night anyways. Bells, this..." He sighed angrily. "Listen, kid, I'm really worried, alright?"
"I just needed a good sleep. Honestly, I'm feeling much better."
"Well... you sound better. A lot better, actually."
"Carlisle thinks I'm over the worst of it now."
"Good! I'll be right th-"
"No! I mean, I'm on the mend, but that doesn't mean it's safe for you to come over."
He didn't answer, but I could hear him grinding his teeth through the phone.
"You heard Carlisle, Ch- Dad. No one can see us."
"But it's just fine for you to go gallivanting across the country when there's a perfectly good hospital right here in Seattle."
"It is all a bit ridiculous." Bella chuckled, although I thought she sounded nervous. She seemed to hear the same thing and swallowed hard before trying to joke with him, "They're loading the cars with enough food to feed an army. We'll be caravaning the entire family across the country without any kind of pit-stops!"
I wished I could read his mind to be sure, but I could hear the change in his voice as he responded to Bella's teasing. "Tell him to pack a few bedpans."
"You've got to be kidding me. He can't expect us not to use a bathroom the whole way there; I'm sure he has something else in mind."
"Well, he's a doctor, so he's probably used to all that stuff, but you're right; he probably doesn't want it in his car... Hey, do me a favor, Bells."
"Sure thing, Dad."
"Pee on his seats for me."
"Ew, Dad! Gross. No way."
"It wouldn't be the first time."
Bella made an inarticulate noise. I tried to stifle a laugh as her cheeks turned bright pink.
"Don't you remember? That year we got lost and you just had to have another Coke?"
"Aw, Dad! Please stop."
"I told you how far the next rest station was, but did you believe your old man?"
"Okay, okay! Yes, I remember. Now, I think that's enough embarrassing childhood memories for one day." They laughed together for a moment, and I couldn't help but trail a finger across the extra warmth in her cheeks, which only turned a brighter red as she saw my amused smirk.
"I miss you, Bells."
"Miss you too, Dad. Look, don't worry, 'kay? Everything will be fine. I'll be home before you know it. Promise."
"Call me when you get there, alright?"
"Sure, sure." She hung up quickly, just as he started to say something else to her. Bella dropped the phone, winced, and leaned away from me as she rubbed her side.
"Bella?"
She shook her head.
"Is it your rib?" I asked, seeing that where she was rubbing was close to the place where it had broken her bone.
She shook her head again. Her eyes were closed, and she was breathing shallowly. I looked away from her face to stare in horror at her swollen stomach as she pulled in a sharp breath through her teeth. It moved, the skin across her stomach rippling and bulging, and she gasped and clutched at my arm. Her stomach jumped as the creature within her kicked out. She didn't make another noise, enduring its kicks in silence. After several tense minutes, her breathing deepened, and she slumped against me. She'd have a few new bruises, but at least it hadn't gone for a bone this time.
"Bella?" I pressed her.
"It's fine. He was just moving."
Fine, she said. Fine! On the mend, even! Carlisle telling Charlie she'd stabilized was one thing when he would have been able to hear the difference in her voice, but to say she was on the mend implied she was going to be healthy again, to be normal again, to see him again, when we all knew that could never happen. I pressed my lips together to avoid asking the question I'd said to her so many times before. What was she thinking?!
Seth slid deeper into his chair after Bella didn't move for several minutes. I'd already offered him my bed, and I wasn't about to kick him out of the house to sleep in the dirt, so I left him alone. Besides, Bella was my priority, and I could tell that she wasn't as relaxed as she pretended to be. Her shoulders were tense and her fingers were clutching at my shirt as though it were a life-line.
The thing inside of her wasn't finished tormenting her and it wasn't too long before she pushed herself closer to me to wait out another round of its punishing stretches and kicks. My relief that it wasn't aiming for her bones was short-lived. We all clearly heard the crack just before Bella cried out and pressed a hand to her side.
