I completely understand why SMeyer decided to skip the reactions in the book and go straight to two weeks later, when they were all settled into their opinions! And do it from Jacob's POV - this was so difficult to write for them, and for Carys!

Breaking Dawn, Chapter Six

Carys' first conscious experience of the thriving city of Rio de Janeiro was limited to the passenger's seat of a car and the interior of a sweet shop.

Carlisle left her in the capable hands of an attentive shopkeeper while she decided which sweet treats she wanted to take back to the island, and disappeared, reappearing once she'd made her purchases. He, too, had spent the time wisely and had a bag even larger than her own.

Hand in hand, they returned to the sleek black car he'd rented for the duration of the trip. With its heavily tinted windows and a service whereby he could have it picked up and dropped off where and when he wanted it, it suited their purposes to a tee. The plush, leather-bound interior was slightly more luxurious than his usual mode of transport but suited him just as well - it was luxurious and expensive without being ostentatious or overly flashy.

Carys waited for him in the front seat, nibbling on the contents of one of the boxes she'd bought, while Carlisle stowed their bags in the back. His contained medical supplies. A quick glance had revealed the box of gloves at the top, and she was sure she spied the words SINGLE USE ONLY emblazoned across a larger box just below. He'd adjusted his hold, favouring her with a tight-lipped smile when he noticed her interest.

"For later," he'd said. "I've made use of some contacts to procure the other supplies we'll need."

Carys blamed that faintly ominous yet somewhat reassuring declaration for why, despite her best efforts, she was three chocolates deep before Carlisle slid into the driver's seat and declared, "I'm cutting you off if you eat too many of those too quickly."

Carys chuckled at the empty threat, knowing how easily he'd give in if she wanted them returned. "I'm going to ask Matt if he can share taste in memories. If he can, I'll try and convince him to let you try them." Inspecting the box, she added, "They might be better than the cocadas - and I bought enough of those. Brigadeiros..."

She winced, thinking about the control the shopkeeper had exerted - not to laugh or complain, merely to correct her when she'd stumbled over the pronunciation twice. To her credit - and Carys was giving herself credit - she really tried and by the end had received a nod of amused approval. Still, she wondered, "Am I saying that right?"

"Almost. If you ignore the intensely English accent." Carlisle adjusted his mirror and wiggled the gearstick, flashing her a smile as he started the car. "They're both made with condensed milk. Maybe that's what you like about them - the sugar."

Carys twitched her fingers, running them through the air above her box. Selecting one of the larger chocolate balls, she took a bite and showed Carlisle the filling. "These ones have actual strawberries inside."

"And that makes them what? Healthier?"

"Don't come for my sweets, Doctor Cullen, or I'll start eating apples instead," Carys warned, her tone and serious glare offset by the teasing nature of the threat.

"Ooh, pulling out the big guns there," said Carlisle dryly. "I'm so scared - not the apples, anything but them."

Prodding his rock-hard shoulder, Carys said, "I'm warning you, I'll do it!"

Carlisle smiled at the road as he checked his wing mirror and waited for a car to pass. "Eat your brigadeiros, darling." Unlike Carys, his pronunciation was perfect. "I have nothing against them so long as we don't have a repeat of the Great Coconut Ice Gorge of 2005."

Carys beamed at him while she made herself more comfortable, adjusting her seatbelt. "See, this is the good thing about vampires."

"What is?" he asked distractedly. Sighing, he lowered his window and waved another car through, pulling out with a one-hand manoeuvre Carys appreciated more than she supposed she should. "Our attention to your sugar spikes?"

"I don't have to share," she whispered, popping the rest of the sweet into her mouth. She chewed, savouring the rich flavour and burst of juice from the berry. "I think I might love these more than-"

"If you say me, I'm going to revise my opinion of them," he cautioned.

Carys grinned, popping two smaller ones in her mouth at once to save herself from answering. She could very easily find herself obsessed with them but they weren't anything on Carlisle.

Carlisle reached for the radio, settling onto a channel. Except for the music, they drove in silence. When Carys' stomach decided it was time for a break from the sweets - something it wouldn't have had her stomach not been in knots over the upcoming visit - he took her hand, fiddling with her fingers, reminding her of their first date. She'd been nervous then, for another reason, and he'd done the same thing when he'd known.

How easily habits are made.

Reaching the hotel, they found that the Cullens had managed to book out an entire floor on short notice. Judging by a couple at the main desk, this exhibition of wealth had displaced some guests to other floors and not everyone was happy with it. But one look at Jasper when the lift opened on the top floor, and Carys saw the reason the decision - even if she couldn't quite be pleased with it.

"I've been reminded of another reason you don't like being around tons of humans," she said by way of greeting.

Jasper's beleaguered smile was humourless. "Indeed. Tensions're high enough already."

"Well then," said Carlisle. "Lead on and we'll try to give you a break."

"Righ' this way." Spinning on his heel, Jasper led them past several doors, to a large sitting room in which Esme, Alice, Emmett, Rosalie, Edward and Bella were sitting or standing, waiting expectantly. It was so quiet and tense that it set Carys' teeth on edge. Carlisle squeezed her hand in solidarity when hers trembled. He squeezed three times, letting her know that he was there and that he loved her; she squeezed back four times to echo his sentiments. It was something she used to do when she was small - something her mum taught her - and it was incredibly useful at times when one or both of them needed bolstering.

Jasper took the position behind Alice's armchair, standing to attention. "If y'all don't mind puttin' us outta our misery sooner rather'n later?" he said when they remained silent.

"What?" Carys feigned cheer she didn't feel and spread her free arm wide. "No hugs? No hellos?"

Emmett was halfway out of his seat with a grin when Edward tilted his head, his gaze fixed on his father. He froze. "No," he whispered. "No, that's..." He trailed off.

Emmett's grin hardly faltered. "What's up, Edward? Seen something you shouldn't have?" In a flash, he had Carys wrapped up in a hug, lifting her off the ground. "Told you they've been freaking out since-" he broke off, thrusting Carys away from him, holding her with her feet dangling a few inches from the floor.

Of all the times to kick, Dhamph chose to do so when she was stomach to stomach with a vampire.

Emmett's face was a picture of confusion and horror. "What have you been eating!?"

Carys' jaw dropped, indignation surpassing the indignity of her current position and the partial revelation. "Excuse me!?"

Carlisle placed his hand on Emmett's arm, gripping firmly. "Emmett, that's hardly the way to greet a human. We talked about this back in the forties. Now please put Carys down, she's not a ragdoll."

"I swear something just... Do you have food poisoning?" Emmett lowered Carys to the floor and crossed his arms over his wide chest.

Carys cleared her throat. He meant the feeling, not her weight. Avoiding his intent gaze, she fiddled with the ends of her curls, twirling them around her fingers. "No? No food poisoning." She allowed Carlisle to draw her to his side, thankful that she'd thought to wear a loose-fitting top over her jeans.

"Hmm..." Emmett relaxed in an instant. "Never mind." No one else moved as he returned to his position beside Rosalie.

"You have our attention," Rosalie informed them, a touch frostily. "We're all here. And they say I'm the dramatic one."

"I think we all know that's Edward, dear," Esme said with a pat to Rosalie's hand. She folded her hands in her lap and nodded at Carys and Carlisle to get going.

They took deep, steadying breaths. There was no shying away from it now.

"As we said on the phone, we have some news," Carlisle began diplomatically.

Edward scoffed. "News!? News? This is more than news, Carlisle."

"Edward," Carys snapped. "This is hard enough as it is." She drew a quick breath. "Sorry. But you're not helping."

"And why would I help?" Edward's eyes widened at Carlisle's sharp glance and he held up a hand. "Forgive me."

Carlisle took a double take of his son. Carys just about stopped her jaw from dropping, catching herself as her lips parted.

"I'm trying to be"-Edward glanced at Bella-"more receptive to things out of my control," he said slowly. "That isn't to say that I don't have an opinion. Nor that I won't be sharing that opinion when everyone knows what I do."

"If it's not much more positive than that was, I hope you know where I'm going to kick you," Carys said.

He nodded.

Carys shouldered Carlisle. "You're going to have to do it, lovely." She was far too nervous to remember what they'd agreed to say.

If Bella wasn't there, he'd be able to fill them in a hell of a lot faster but as it was, he spoke slowly enough for them all to understand. "To put it plainly... Carys is expecting."

Emmett's brow crinkled. "Expecting what?"

"Expecting," Carys whispered shakily.

"Yeah, but what?"

Carlisle smiled patiently and ripped off the bandaid. "You were right on the phone, Emmett. Carys is pregnant with our child."

As one, every vampire in the room froze. Bella looked around, and Carys watched realisation dawn across her face, causing her eyes and mouth to go lax before they firmed into a contemplative frown. She aimed that frown at Edward's profile.

"It's true, Esme," Edward said all of a sudden, looking at her. "It isn't as impossible as we thought. They're actually happy about it."

Esme blinked herself back to life. "A... You're... A..." Her eyes swam, her voice cracking. "A baby. You're... You're having a baby...?" She flew to her feet and grinned tremulously through unshed tears. "How... How...!"

Jasper reached her in an instant, placing his hand on her shoulder. She batted at his hold. "Don't be silly, Jaz. This is-oh, this is-" She turned into him and whatever she said was lost to his jumper, too quiet for human ears. Her body relaxed. She drew away. "This is amazing!" she cried, flapping her hands at Carys, crossing the room to pull her into a hug. "Come here."

Carys closed her eyes, accepting the embrace. She tightened her hold; couldn't look at the others - not yet. Esme's reaction had broken her heart and she wasn't sure she could bear to know - to see - what they were thinking or feeling when they came to.

Her mind was whirling, too fast to grasp anything for long enough. It had been that way, she realised with a jolt, since they'd come into the room. Everything was disjointed.

The worst reaction would be Rosalie, she had no doubt, not because Rosalie might be suffering from the announcement, but-oh, who was she trying to kid? Yes, it was because Rosalie might react in the same or a similar way to Esme. She knew in that instant that she was going to be selfish: it wasn't something she wanted them to hurt about, but it wasn't something she wanted to share.

Edward stiffened.

And Carys let him and herself know that she hadn't thought about that before. That she'd expressly stopped herself from thinking about what her reaction to their reactions would be. That as soon as the thought entered her mind, she felt bad, terrible, horrible to have thought it, horrible to assume it.

Esme drew away to embrace Carlisle all too quickly, and so Carys steeled herself, hoping Edward wouldn't say anything about what he had heard.

Shock would be the easiest word to use for what she saw in the others. Bella's jaw was working again, her mouth opening and closing, her gaze flying around the room. Rosalie and Emmett held hands, the former staring at Carys' middle while the latter met her gaze head on, his jaw tight. Jasper nodded stiffly when she moved on to him, and Alice was frowning fiercely, the blankness in her eyes telling of a mind far away.

Edward broke the silence. "What if it kills you?"

Esme sucked in a gasp, whirling away from Carlisle to look at Carys. But it wasn't Carys Edward was looking at, it was Carlisle.

"What if that one kills Carys?" he asked, pointing at Carys' belly. "Have you thought about that?"

"OH, SHUT UP, EDWARD!" Rosalie screamed, rounding on him, causing Alice to jump half a foot in the air. "Read the fucking room for once in your miserable, self-centred life!"

"Rose is right," Carlisle said lowly, drawing seven surprised stares. Carys was the only one to remain as she was. "Not about all of it," he clarified. "About reading the room, Edward. You said you would wait, at the very least, to share your opinion."

"I think we're all missing something here," Emmett said. "More than something. Why would Carlisle die? Is this thing going to kill Carys? While we're at it, how is this possible?"

Again, Carys left it to Carlisle to explain. This time because she didn't trust that she would make any sense if she tried. He spoke quickly and concisely, filling them in with the bare bones, promising to get down to the whys and wherefores once the dust had settled over the announcement. He told them everything they needed to form an opinion - going so far as to make Matt's threat and change of heart known, but not as far as to tell the room at large that they'd been best friends at one time in the past.

By the end, Emmett was fierce. "Sounds like I might get that fight with the Volturi after all."

"No you won't," Carlisle forbade. "No one is going to fight anyone. Not unless circumstances change."

Emmett agreed all too easily, causing Carys to wonder if he'd said it purely because it was expected of him. His hold on Rosalie was tight. She'd returned quickly to her quiet, unresponsive state and though Emmett remained where he was, it was clear that his attention was focused on her and her alone.

"Rose?" Carlisle said, a touch warily.

Rosalie snapped out of her reverie. "Clothes."

"I'm sorry?"

"Carys will need maternity clothes," she said, rolling her eyes as if it was clear from the start that that was what she'd been thinking of. "I assume you haven't thought of that?"

"Erm..." Carys had, but her bump still fit into the clothes she'd packed and it wasn't top on her list. "Not as much as I should, but yes."

Rosalie shook her head - flashing to the end table by the door, back to her seat. Clicking the pen she'd retrieved, she concentrated on the pad. "I'm writing this for your benefit," she said by way of explanation, putting pen to paper. "Clothes. And baby clothes as well. The whole accouchement. A crib, of course. Changing table." The list went on and on and Carys found herself zoning out until finally Rosalie laid the pen down. "I'd like to speak to this Matt - get a list of things he suggests. I imagine he's already shared one?"

Carlisle's response fell on deaf ears. Not Rosalie's, Carys'. She fiddled with the hem of her top, blinking hard.

How did she tell Rosalie, whose first reaction was to help, that she wanted to be in control of this? That she wanted her help, but not too much of it? That even for a moment it crossed her mind that she wished Rosalie hadn't reacted with the business-like efficiency that had, only recently, been the crutch Carys relied upon for her wedding?

It was weird, odd, hard to... Hard to place her thoughts. Hard to think about, harder to sift through the lack of control she felt in that moment and explain.

Because she didn't want to upset Rose, she didn't want to hurt her, she didn't want to come out of this as...

Rose was being nice.

So nice.

So kind.

So why did Carys feel like crying and screaming and ripping the notepad out of Rosalie's hands, telling her that she would choose the things that she wore, that Dhamph wore, that Dhamph slept in?

It hit her, then. It was because she knew that when it came to it, she might not be in control. That Rosalie might be left helping to look after Dhamph while she, Carys, was focused on being a newborn and feeding, trying desperately to remember who she really was.

And Carys didn't want-

"Good," Rose said, cutting through Carys' increasingly broken thoughts.

"Rose?" Carlisle said again. His tone pulled Carys back to the reality of what was happening. The control Rosalie was exerting over her own reaction.

Guilt tore through Carys like a hot knife through butter, nearly buckling her.

"Lots to do and only weeks to do it in," Rose said in clipped tones, reading over her list. "I should get on with compiling vendors. Excuse me." Rose rose and left the room faster than was humanly possible, her graceful lope inhumanly perfect yet far stiffer than usual.

Emmett followed her out and Esme returned to her seat, rubbing her hands together, smiling brightly around the room. Carlisle looked at Carys, the question implicit in his eyes. The overwhelming need to comfort Rose washed over her like a tidal wave and she released his hand, nudging him in the direction of the door the pair had exited through.

"Will you be okay?" he asked.

"Of course," she said. "Nervous, that's all. Go. Make sure she's okay."

She quelled her desire to call him back as soon as he left, settling for swinging her arms, unsure what to say, wanting to follow them, appreciating that Rose needed Carlisle and Emmett far more at that moment. Wishing... Wishing... She didn't know what.

Wishing she had been better...

She met Jasper's eye and quickly moved on. He and Edward would know everything; she didn't want to know what they thought of her. It now scared her to think that Edward might share what he knew.

"Never," Edward said, and when she looked at him his fists were curled against his knees, his attention on his shoes.

"Carys," Bella said quietly, providing a welcome distraction. "How exactly did this happen?"

Carys blew out a breath, sorting through her jumbled mind. "Well... Unprotected sex, mostly."

Esme turned her surprised laugh into a cough - which set Jasper off, his chest quaking silently, lips titled up at one corner.

Bella huffed. "I got that. I meant how."

Carys raised her eyebrows and launched into a description of the process, as she knew it. She didn't pause to think and spare their blushes when she reiterated the details. The dark red of Bella's cheeks when she was finished disabused her of her carelessness.

"Sorry Bella."

"She did ask," Alice said helpfully. The first she'd spoken since they'd been told, her voice was more high-pitched than normal and she returned to her blank-eyed staring in a flash.

"Yes," Carys accepted, "but I shouldn't have... Anyway." She rubbed at her forehead. "Yeah, that's pretty much how it happened."

Bella was eyeing Edward. "Did you hear that?" she demanded.

He raised his head a little, tilting his chin to look at her as if she was mad.

"It is possible to have a baby with you - so you can believe me next time I say I don't care about missing out on it. If you want one, we can discuss it. Otherwise I don't want to hear a word about it again."

His expression slowly transitioned to utter disbelief as he pushed himself upright.

Carys wasn't sure if she should be amused, disappointed, upset, impressed, or what by Bella's response to the news. But one of the biggest obstacles to Bella and Edward's relationship had been his insistence that she could live what he considered to be a full life if she was with anyone else. And now that had been proved partially incorrect. Carys swallowed past the lump in her throat and the flare of panic she felt all of a sudden, telling herself they were normal reactions to the stress, praying she wasn't that selfish.

What was going on? What had got into her? She thought she knew herself. Thought she was a good person. But now she felt fiercely protective - not just protective ... selfishness to the point of not wanting other people to share her happiness?

Something wasn't quite right.

She didn't feel right.

Carys felt as if she was stuck in a dream as it turned into a nightmare of every failing she thought she had put under a magnifying glass, amplified to the point of horror.

A/N: the next chapter will be out tomorrow - I just need to cut it here because I'm not happy with that half... Carys isn't feeling herself, I think we can all agree!

Thanks to: Ashies, Momochan77, demonstration1996, Mickeymice, BMBMDooDoo-Doo-Doo-Doo, NeonKat (Thank you so much! I hope you can forgive Carys a bit of her reaction - she's definitely going through something in this chapter and the next one...), Guest (I'm thinking about doing it Carys, Leah, Carys, Leah, and marking them with their names so that if you want to read Carys' POV only, you can, but if you want to read Leah, you can add those ones in. I think it would defintiely be better than having a big chunk of Leah in the midst of the story, and it would give everyone options? What do you think?), GuestMG, madiygeek, Bailey2797, IvoryNoctua, JeanieofRavenclaw, OnlyHuman123, Serena Salvatore, TDI-Ryro-Eclares, Shakilove, ReadLikeHermione, and RosieKay for your reviews!