Hi, so here is another chapter and I am glad to bring you this one. Again this one and probably the next will be in Emmett's point of view before we switch back to Rosalie.

Disclaimer-Nothing here is mine.

Please Read and Review.

Some events of this story, cannon events, dialogue etc might just be switched around, it's the nature of the beast with an AU. Please just keep that in mind.

On a side note, I am sure many of you have noticed the author of this quote. Queen Elizabeth II who sadly passed away at the time of writing this was perhaps one my idols since before I could understand what the word meant. This chapter and indeed all chapters of my work with this update are written in memory of her and her phenomenal legacy as a Queen, a wife, a mother, a grandmother and a great-grandmother and perhaps most importantly at all, a woman in a man's world who rose to the top was universally respected and never stopped smiling even when I imagine all she wanted to do was cry. As she so wonderfully said, grief is the price we pay for love. And perhaps it is the best price that we can pay for that, the most ultimate gift.

And with that on with this story.

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

Chapter 5-Vested Interests

As the family reel from Bella's decision to keep her baby, battle lines are drawn and the Cullen family finds itself dangerously poised to break. (Still Emmett's Point of View).

"Grief is the price we pay for love" Queen Elizabeth II

Emmett drove.

That was good in a way because Bella somewhere between getting in the car and driving had started sobbing on Rosalie's shoulder and Rosalie had simply just pulled the girl to her and had rocked her back and forth as gentle as…

Well…as a mother.

Emmett had not been able to think that again because he was not entirely sure that Jasper would ever forgive him if his car got wrecked by a stampeding Edward and also because he was sure he would crack himself. He was hanging onto his control by a thread and what was funny in a round about not funny-horror-freak show kind of way was that it was not his vampire control that was keeping him on edge. It was the part of him that thought this was a terrible, terrible idea. It was what was going to happen when they got to the house. It was how this was going to tear apart his second family and that there was nothing he could do about it because as much as he loved his family there was nothing in this world that he would ever love more than Rosalie.

Even a baby.

It was a sad thing to think but when the option was removed, for him he didn't think of it. Now that it was possible…in a way he supposed it changed things but he couldn't think of going out and impregnating some tiny human on the off chance that he could…the idea was unthinkable! This whole thing was unthinkable!

If Edward picked up on any of this then Emmett was sure to know. His confusion and his uncertainty over Bella's decision would bleed from Edward's gift to Jasper's to Alice's and back again and it was only his resolve to keep Rosalie safe from harm that would never change. Edward might think he could read all, Jasper might think he could control all and Alice might think that she could see all but Emmett was a McCarty. He knew his own mind and his own emotions and his own future.

And nothing was taking him from Rosalie's side.

They got to the house and Rosalie was there at Bella's side. Bella who had scrubbed her face with the back of her hand smiled and let Rosalie follow her into the house. Edward was like a shadow and Emmett followed behind him. watching, waiting, wondering.

The rest of the family filed in like secret little soldiers silently waiting.

Bella sat down on the couch her smile back in place. She was confident here, trusting. She was placing a huge amount of trust in Rosalie and when she looked at him and smiled Emmett realised with a swoop in his stomach that he should not be able to feel that she was placing a lot of her trust in him too.

Fantastic.

Edward watched with blown out eyes and Emmett knew the second he made his move.

Edward was nothing if not predictable.

He went for Rosalie so fast. But Emmett was faster. This was his wife. He was faster.

He caught Edward around the neck and slammed him into the glass table. Rosalie grabbed Bella and retreated so fast she was a blur crouched in front of her. Edward lunged upwards but Emmett had him in a headlock before he could even try. Jasper sent a wave of calmness directed at the both of them but it was in vein. Even the strongest kind of drowsiness could not stop them now. Edward was an immortal creature possessed by a kind of rage that made him more powerful than Jasper.

"I...just…want…to…speak…to…my….wife" Edward growled sending an elbow into Emmett's stomach hard enough so that his ribs, all stone and steal cracked a little in protest. He turned and Emmett slammed him back down again. It was seconds between them now, heartbeats long gone, brotherhood over decades and centuries disappearing in front of their very eyes and both of them trying to protect their wives from the other.

"Newsflash dipshit" Emmett grunted. "I don't think she wants to speak to you. Look at her"

Edward did then and Emmett could see some of the war within his brothers eyes. He was desperate to go to Bella, to ease her fears and wipe away the tears but he was utterly terrified of the path that Bella had placed herself on.

Emmett couldn't blame him. That was the hard part.

The easy part was just that…easy…protect Rosalie from harm, protect his mate from the enemy. Even if the enemy was his brother.

Emmett took the pause to push Edward back. He went back into Jasper who had enough sense to keep him there, even Edward knew that you had to be suicidal to try and take Jasper by surprise. Even Alice who was his whole world had only been able to do that a handful of times. Emmett went back to his crouch ignoring the look that Jasper sent him. He was on this side now, he may as well stay there.

"Stop"

It was Carlisle. He didn't need to shout, Carlisle never did. In all the years that Emmett had called him a father—or as good as—he had never so much as seen the man raise an eyebrow never mind his voice. The command was soft and given gently but it was a command, nonetheless.

"Now" Carlisle said when it was clear that Edward was not going to try anything. "Can someone explain calmly just what is going on here"

"I'd have thought it was obvious" Edward snapped. "Rosalie has poisoned my wife against me"

Oh, Jesus wept!

"Edward get a grip" he said before he could stop himself. "The only person who is turning your wife off against you is you. Look at her. Seriously. You don't get it do you? It's not about you at this point, or Rosalie"

Christ when had he become the voice of reason in the Cullen family? Seriously? What fucked up universe had they gone into when he was the voice of reason and calm and vampires could knock up humans without accidently killing them in the process.

"What's it about then?" Esme asked but she knew. Her face might be creased in concern but there was no way that Esme didn't know what was happening. What this was about. You'd have to be truly thick to not see the battle lines that were being drawn and Esme was anything but thick.

"We…" he coughed and Rosalie fell silent. Minutely he shook his head and Bella who had been cowering in Rosalie's arms pushed herself forwards looking her husband dead in the eye with an inner-confidence that Emmett had not seen in her before.

"I…Edward I am not going to let you kill this baby. And whatever you think of your sister she understands that. I asked for help and she's going to give it to me"

"What does this have to do with Rosalie?" Alice burst in her face pulled back in a snarl. Emmett looking at her wondered what was bothering her…really…the fact that Bella had gone to Rosalie for help or the fact that since Victoria, the family knew enough about Alice's visions to hide things from her.

Or maybe it was simply the fact that Bella had chosen Rosalie over Alice. But then again…Alice was too much in Edwards pocket (and it was a harsh phrase to be sure but it was what it was) to have helped Bella with this plan. Even now Emmett was not sure it was doable.

"Rosalie understands what I want Alice" Bella said simply rubbing her hand on her stomach. "She understands what I want in the sense that nobody else here does. I'm sorry but she does. She gets why I want this baby and I know that she will protect the baby"

"Christ" Jasper muttered shaking his head. It was too low for Bella to hear but Emmett heard it. Privately he agreed.

"Bella" Carlisle said and it was the same tone that he used whenever one of them was doing something particularly stupid (a tone they all knew well). "You must understand that I cannot guarantee that you can stay alive. The procedure…if you are worried about pain I can promise you, you will not feel a thing"

"It's not about that" Bella said earnestly. "I don't want you to get rid of this baby. This is mine and Edward's baby and he's going to be just fine"

For a second Emmett didn't understand who she was talking about because Edward looked a very long way away from just fine in his opinion but then he saw her hand on her belly and knew.

Oh God. She'd already decided it was a boy. Of course.

If she turned around and called the boy Henry, Rosalie was going to combust vampire or no vampire.

Carlisle looked seconds away from putting his head in his hands. Emmett could understand the feeling. There was Bella's blind optimism mixed in with Rosalie's determination mixed in with Edward's blind despair. There was a love for all three of his children warring in his mind and a confusion over the ethics. Edward had probably told him Bella was on board with this. It had never occurred to either one of them that Bella who had never expressed as desire to have children…who had never thought of them as a loss to this new immortal life that they led. But it had occurred to his wife, who would trade it all in for a chance. The chance that Bella had now.

"Bella"

It was Edward and the word was surrounded in a hundred and one different emotions that Emmett couldn't name and didn't even want to. To try and name the feelings and the words and the agony that was written over Edward's face was to try and understand. To think of Rose in such a situation was to feel his body fall out from underneath him and that wouldn't help, his priority was his wife. His wife who was with him standing shoulder to shoulder with his sister in law and who was shaking with either fright or emotion Emmett could not tell witch.

"Edward" Bella said the small smile on her face. "I can keep my heart beating and then someone can change me, I can do this, I know my own strengths and limitations and I know what I can and cannot do. And I can do this. I can keep my heart beating until our son is born. I love…I love him enough to do that"

And Emmett knew that dead or not Bella had made up her mind. If this cost her, her life she would do it. He could not understand it, he had come from a time where woman did die in childbirth, many of them in fact and the medicine was always around the corner just out of reach but this was beyond that. He could not wrap his head around it, a baby with fangs.

But he eyed his family. He saw Alice position herself and he knew what was going to happen. Jasper would send a wave of calm at him thinking that would do it. Alice would go for Rosalie (the likelihood that she would be crushed in the process because everyone always underestimated his wife) Edward would go for Bella and it would be over before it even began. There would be terrible, horrendous consequences for this family. Never again would they be the same. Providing Rosalie survived if the baby was lost then she would be beyond rage, Emmett knew his wife, she had staked her entire survival on this baby one way or the other. He had staked his own on her. If the baby was harmed Rosalie would leave and never come back and he would be with her. Providing of course she didn't annihilate Edward in the process.

He couldn't look at Carlisle who was clearly struggling.

One look at his…at his father…and he was lost.

And then suddenly Alice groaned. She bent over at the waist and the look she shot of pure betrayal was not at Rosalie, it was not at him but at someone in the corner of the room and everyone tracked the movement to…

Esme.

Shit.

He had forgotten about Esme.

Since the entire announcement of the pregnancy Esme had been silent, a silent source of comfort at Carlisle's side. Her concern for Bella was bleeding through everything and anything but her opinions had been silent. But then again…she like Carlisle had never had to voice an opinion—the world just simply knew what she was thinking.

And he knew now.

Everyone knew of course, of the baby that Esme had, had that had died. They never spoke of it unless Esme invited them to do so. It was part out of a deep love and respect for the woman they all willingly called mother and a fear of what Carlisle would do if she was made to be upset. They might bicker like cats and dogs but the Cullen children respected the people who they called parents even if they were not much older than them themselves.

And now it seemed that Esme had made a choice.

"I can see now" she said ignoring Edward's groan. "I can see that she loves him. That the baby is her choice. And we must respect that"

She said it in such a powerful tone that Emmett could see Carlisle had no choice to agree. Besides there was no point. The second Esme had cast her decision into the room Carlisle was struck mute. He was her husband though and through and he stood by her in the same way that Emmett stood by his wife. They might not agree but the thought of them facing down the storm on their own…

Rosalie muttered something to Bella and then the younger girl was in the kitchen with Esme. Carlisle trailed off after them and Jasper sighed sitting down on the couch. Emmett watched and considered and then finally sat down too. He was not sure what was going on in the kitchen—it sounded like Esme was trying to find something for Bella to eat but before he could do anything Alice was in his face.

"If she dies it's your fault" she said looking directly at him. "Yours and your wife's"

"No" Emmett said softly. "Her body, her choice Alice. You don't get to make that choice for her. That's why she chose Rose. You have a problem with that I suggest you take a long look in your upstairs mirror"

For a second his sister gazed at him and then she was gone in a haze of spiky black hair.

"Emmett…"

It was Edward and he spoke softly with a vulnerability that Emmett had never heard before.

"Please"

For a second the two brothers looked at each other.

"No" Emmett said finally.

Edward said nothing, his face was burning.

Perhaps he had always known what Emmett's answer was going to be.

Edward went off then to find his wife and then it was just Jasper and him in the room.

"You've won the war then" Jasper said softly.

"The second Esme got involved it was over" Emmett argued.

"Perhaps" was all Jasper said though they both knew it to be true. There was not a vampire in this house that would dare hurt Esme. To even think it was unthinkable.

"Jasper—"

"I love my wife, you love your wife, Edward loves his, so does Carlisle. It's our lot in life. Loving strong woman with minds of their own"

Emmett laughed.

"What a wonderful eternity span out between us"

Jasper had the grace to laugh.

"I suppose so"

"Jasper—"

"You've won the battle Emmett, I just…I'm not sure how Rosalie can win the war"

Emmett didn't say anything to that.

"I'd better go in" was all he said exactly thirteen seconds alter.

"Yeah"

"And I know I've not won anything" he said as he got to the door.

Jasper carefully said nothing.

"Just been given a reprieve" was all he said quietly and then Emmett was gone through the door and towards his wife and his sister in law and wondering just what the hell was going to happen next in the ever present saga that was the Cullen family and the hell that was always of their own making.

And there you are, I hope that you have enjoyed this chapter and I will do my best to bring you the next one sooner rather than later.

Next Chapter-Emmett has a conversation with Carlisle as the baby progresses within Bella. And there's an unwelcome voice on the edge of the horizon.