A/N: I have never owned and never will own anything mentioned in SM's Twilight saga. She is a God. I am a poor student. Enjoy.
Chapter Eight: Illness
I woke from a nightmare January 9, 1918, to find that the fire had gone out. Moving slowly so as not to wake Edward, I alighted from the bed and tiptoed to the ornate fireplace. It took a few moments to get it going, but once it was, the stench of the burning wood overwhelmed me. There must have been a bit of rubber or something in the ashes to cause the smell, but whatever it was sent me fleeing to the bathroom.
I hunched over the porcelain toilet and shook violently with the sickness that overtook me. Before my stomach emptied completely, I felt warm hands pull my long curls out of the way, felt lips at the back of my neck. I tried in vain to wave him away but Edward wouldn't budge. He helped me wash my face after I rinsed my mouth. Though it still tasted a little like bile the urge to vomit had vanished.
"Are you alright, Bella?"
"I think so… I just smelled something bad when I rekindled the fire... it made me feel so nauseous. I feel fine, actually." How bizarre.
"You're sure?" he asked, his brow furrowed with worry.
"Positive."
He carried me to bed against my protests and before long I was curled into his chest and sleeping again.
When I woke, light was streaming through the frosted French doors and had bathed the room in wintery luminescence. I groaned softly, feeling beside me for Edward. Instead, my fingers found a stiff piece of folded paper. Edward's elegant script was written neatly in the center.
Mrs. Masen,
It is my hope that you have rested well and will not miss me when you wake. I'll be home in time for dinner. I took lunch with me, so stay in bed and rest. I've called New York to check on Kate. Mother will be by to see that you're well. Please feel better.
-Your husband
I sighed and looked at the clock on his bedside table. Past noon. Nearly one. I stood carefully and dressed slowly, not wanting the nausea to come back. But as I bent to retrieve a fresh pair of stockings from a drawer, it hit me so hard that I just barely made it to the washroom.
I coughed and sputtered when it was over, leaning weakly over the porcelain bowel with my forehead resting on my arm.
"Bella?"
I barely managed to groan in response to the voice downstairs. I heard shoes on the stairwell and had just rinsed my mouth out when Elizabeth knocked on the washroom's door.
"Bella, dear? Are you all right? Eddie told me you were ill this morning…" Her nose wrinkled delicately as the smell of it hit her.
"Not just this morning, I'm afraid…" I washed my face, still feeling weak, and pulled the flush over the toilet.
Elizabeth pursed her lips and caught my hands before I could go past her into the bedroom. She held a hand to my forehead and looked me over with her piercing emerald eyes.
"Bella. This is very important. Have you missed any monthlies?"
"My… I… Oh… No..! I haven't. But I have had different… experiences these last three months than I usually have." In that I had been irregular. In that last month it hadn't come at all.
My hands flew to my abdomen and I shook my head.
"It can't be. I still… until last month I still… And Edward…" I blushed at Edward's precautionary measures. "There just isn't any way."
"Well, dear, I think we should visit the doctor anyway. Just to be safe. And to get something to settle your stomach, at least."
I dressed quickly, pulling on thick stockings, a wool suit, and trench coat. I shoved my gloved hands into a muff before following Kate out the door. The wind was bitingly cold, the snow and ice beneath our feet treacherous. We only went as far as the corner before hailing a taxi.
I tried not to think about my mysterious illness as the cab made skidding turns through the city. There were two hospitals in town: Mercy, and Chicago General. Chicago General had been reserved for disease outbreak and specific illness that may (or may not) require quarantine. To those with an education, it was a festering cesspool more likely to make a person ill than well. It was also the middle and upper class's cubbyhole for the less fortunate. Renée, in the later stages of her illness (after I had already mended), spent quite some time there.
There was a checkpoint set up outside of Mercy hospital. Two nurses in cloth masks stopped us and asked us a series of questions before letting the cabbie drive up to the building. Elizabeth helped me out and we went inside. This hospital was cleaner than Chicago General. At the same time, a thrill of fear ran through me at the thought of being there for any length of time. I hated needles. I fainted at the sight or scent of blood. The smell of iodine made my stomach churn.
We were ushered into a plain, windowless office. A small cot was against the far wall. The other wall was covered completely with anatomical drawings and bookshelves. Several lamps and one ceiling light made the room glow a yellowish hue.
I tried to breathe slowly, afraid of bringing on another spell of nausea. After ten minutes, Elizabeth grew impatient.
"I'll be right back, darling. I want to make sure someone's actually coming…"
"Thank you."
But she was gone before she heard my slightly delayed response.
I sat and stared at the ceiling, watching the light flicker. The wind must have been shaking the power lines.
"Isabella Masen?" a honeyed voice said from the doorway. The two-word question sounded like music. I turned and stood, staring at the angelic figure in the doorway.
The man framed in the doorway seemed carved from marble. His skin was pure, flawless alabaster. He had honey-colored hair and eyes, and the kind set of his eyes and lips made me trust him implicitly. He was almost more beautiful than Edward. Almost.
"Mrs. Masen?" he asked again, extending his hand. I smiled and blushed, taking it. His skin felt hard and cold as ice. "I'm Doctor Carlisle Cullen. The nurse in reception said you have had an upset stomach today?"
He offered me the seat I had just vacated as he made his way around his desk.
"I think it's a little more than that. I woke up before daybreak and was ill… then again around noon. My… My mother-in-law seems to think I may be… with child…" I felt myself growing increasingly red. "-But that can't be right! I… I've still had my monthlies except for this past month." I could not to look him in the eye.
"Have your last cycles differed from previous ones?" he asked delicately, taking notes on a chart.
"Yes… Well. They've been much shorter… and they were very late."
The doctor scratched a couple more notes down and took my pulse, listened to my heartbeat.
"And this morning and this afternoon you experienced severe nausea and vomiting? How did you feel afterward? And did anything trigger it?" he asked, his clinical approach making me less embarrassed.
"This morning I lit the fire and it smelled as if rubber was burning in it… Then when I woke again I tried to bend over my dresser drawer and that sent me to the washroom…"
"I see. And after?"
"I felt a little weak. But not…ill."
"Have you noticed anything else?"
"I don't like some of the things I used to… I've been having nightmares and Ed- My husband says I haven't been talking like I normally do…"
"Mrs. Masen…" Carlisle smiled at me. "I don't think you're sick."
"I don't think so, either. I feel normal right now. Maybe food poisoning..?"
"No, you misunderstand," he chuckled a little and patted my hand. His fingers were still frozen. "I think your mother-in-law is correct. I think you're pregnant, Mrs. Masen."
I stared at him in utter shock.
"It's not uncommon for bleeding to occur during the first couple months of pregnancy. I can refer you to a private doctor and a midwife if you like."
"I'm… pregnant?"
"It's quite possible. Actually, it's most probable. You don't seem to be running a fever. Your pulse is normal. Your breathing sounds fine. Everything you described is typical of pregnancy. Congratulations, Mrs. Masen."
He smiled at me and handed me a slip of paper, a two names and numbers written in elegant script. Doctor Cullen talked some more, none of it making it past my ears. My brain was caught on the idea of being pregnant.
Edward's baby was growing inside me? I felt an incredulous smile on my lips. I was going to be the mother of his child. The image of a perfect baby – pink cheeks, emerald eyes, long lashes, bronze curls – took root in my mind. The little smile became a full-fledged grin. I would have the most beautiful child in the world. Edward in miniature. Suddenly, I felt my heart swell to twice its size. I couldn't help but love the phantom child of my dreams – the very real one now growing in my womb. I jumped slightly as Carlisle patted my hand again.
"…I'm afraid I can't help you through your pregnancy… This hospital is going to be dedicated to influenza quarantine. It's already started spreading because of the war and because of other conditions. But I'm expecting Chicago to suffer as much as New York already is. Please, try to avoid this place from now on, if you can. Good day, Mrs. Masen."
"Thank you, Doctor," I said, still dazed. He helped me up and held the door for me. I didn't remember Elizabeth until I saw her in the lobby. Her voice was raised and her face flushed scarlet in aggravation.
"My daughter is back there and I demand that you allow me to pass! If not, I demand to see your supervisors! You people led me into an office only twenty minutes ago!"
"Ma'am, the chief physician here is the one who's told us not to let anyone back who doesn't exhibit symptoms of any illness. We're preparing for quarantine. It's a safety measure for you, Ma'am."
"Mother…" I caught Elizabeth's hand with a smile.
"Darling!" exclaimed Elizabeth, throwing her arms around me. "These fools wouldn't let me go back to you! They said that the doctor would be with you but then they wouldn't let me join you! It's completely ridiculous. What did he say?"
But before I could answer, my stomach wrenched and I clapped my hand to my mouth, staring at one of the nurses pleadingly. She understood, grabbing a wastebasket behind the desk and holding it out for me. I threw up noisily, Elizabeth rubbing my back. Someone brought me a glass of water when I was finished.
"I'm fine! I'm fine, thank you…" I managed once it was over. The nurse checked me over once before letting me leave on Elizabeth's arm. She helped me into the waiting taxi before questioning me again.
"Sweetheart, are you alright? What did the doctor say?"
I folded my hands over my abdomen, smiling a little wearily. Elizabeth's gloved hand flew to her mouth, her eyes widening. A slow grin spread across her lips.
"Truly?" she gasped.
I giggled a little weakly and addressed the cabbie.
"The Masen-Stanley firm, please."
The secretary at the desk downstairs didn't wait for us to ask. He simply rose and smiled and directed us to the elevator. My heart pounded as we approached the door. The secretary – Joey, if I remembered right – knocked smartly on the door.
"Mr. Masen, Sir. Mrs. Masen and Mrs. Masen are here to see you."
"Bella? Mother?" Edward's voice was worried. His figure cast a shadow in the glass before he pulled the door open. "What's the matter? What's happened?"
"Calm down, Eddie. You worry too much," Elizabeth chided, her eyes and smile gentle. She smoothed a stray lock of hair away from Edward's forehead before stepping past him, settling gracefully into a chair in front of his desk. Edward turned his confused gaze on me, taking my hand. He led me to the other chair, pulling it out for me. I sat carefully, more aware of my movements than I had ever been.
"Bella merely has something she wants to share with you. As you requested, I visited her this afternoon to make sure she was well. But the poor dear just looked wretched! So we went to Mercy Hospital, and visited the doctor. We've just come from there, and we thought you would like to know his diagnosis."
Edward held my hands with worry evident on his face. I couldn't help but smile.
"What did the doctor say, Bella? Food poisoning? Is it something terrible?"
"Not at all." I smiled up at him, radiating warmth. His brows only furrowed further with worry. "I'm fine. More than fine. I'm terrific. Edward…" I rose and pulled his hand to my abdomen, smiling. My face hurt I was smiling so much. I watched as his eyebrows rose higher than I'd ever seen them. His eyes sparkled. His perfect mouth spread into an ecstatic smile as he realized what I was saying.
"You're going to be a father!"
Edward pulled me into his arms and held me tight, kissing me enthusiastically. I responded with my usual fervor and was wrapped around him in a most unladylike way when Elizabeth cleared her throat.
We jumped apart as if we had been electrocuted.
"Yes, well, perhaps you should save that for a later time, dears…" Elizabeth laughed, her eyes averted modestly.
Edward let out a throaty chuckle and I laughed, unable to help the feeling of euphoria that engulfed me. He held my hand tenderly.
"Shall we tell Father?" he asked, not looking at his mother while stroking my gloved fingers.
"Of course. Someone has to pass out cigars," she said with a wink, leading the way out the door. I paused and caught Edward's sleeve before he could follow her.
"Did you call New York?"
The elation on Edward's face faded a little and I watched as his expression became more guarded, a little distressed.
"I don't think… Kate's coming back, Bella. Most of the Bronks have been quarantined."
"Quarantined? Why?"
"It's a new illness… I was afraid, when Mother said you went to the hospital… Well, the doctors aren't quite sure what to do about it yet. The papers there are calling it the influenza, but the symptoms are varied and the number of deaths so far is a lot greater than with pneumonia and such…"
"But…"
"Kate's in a hospital, Bella," he said softly, his voice pained. He knew how much I loved her. I felt my heart clench for my friend. "I don't think she'll be leaving… I spoke to a doctor. They said she's comfortable, but…"
"I… see…"
"I'm sorry, Bella," he whispered to me. His hands cradled my face as if I were made of glass and his lips brushed from my jaw to my mouth, placing soft kisses on my skin. They were apologetic, almost sad for my newest pain. I felt the sadness of Renée's death hit me again, followed in quick succession by a new ache of loss.
Kate, my best – and at times my only friend – would not be coming home.
…..
A/N: Well. There you have it! Hope you enjoyed this installment of Once Upon a Time in 1917. We're getting closer and closer to our climax. Yes, Bella is pregnant. While the invention of birth control was sometime in Ancient Egypt, its free use was not until the 30's, and was not endorsed by scientists, doctors, or religious sects until much later. So, obviously the newlyweds can only be so safe.
Remember, I'm trying to keep this as close to the cannon we all know and love. Bella and Edward's fate WILL NOT CHANGE. They will have their happy ending. There's still a lot of time to go before we reach the tear-jerking chapters, but this is a little taste of what's to come.
About Carlisle: Bella meets him, but Elizabeth and Edward will not until their extended stay in Mercy's quarantined ward.
Please review! It's not a requirement for me to post but it does motivate me to post faster. Please let me know how you like it. I wont change my plot – it's already in my head – but if you find any errors, anything wrong at all, I want to know! And comments, concerns, questions are welcome! I love reviews. I love being favorited. Thank you all so much for them!
To those who asked: Both Edward and Bella will eventually be turned. Bella's experience will be a bit different than in Breaking Dawn, but Edward's will be as it was described in New Moon.
Thank you so much to those of you who have reviewed and favorited! It makes me so happy to know that you all are enjoying the results of my boredom. What makes me a little sad (though it may be selfish) is that I have 2,224 hits and only 19 comments. Even if those of you hitters hate what you see, I want to know, and why. THANK YOU AGAIN EVERYONE WHO IS REVIEWING!
As always, happy reading!
