4. Getting Acquainted
"Holy shit. Now, that's talent!" Emmett exclaims while laughing. Renesmee's vision starts to clear as she feels herself calm down. Jacob has snatched up the baby and put her in Renesmee's arms, which causes the baby to stop crying. Renesmee is whispering thank- you's to everyone without looking away from the baby. She feels relieved but she's looking exhausted again. Jacob sinks down next to her on the bed and rubs gentle circles into her neck and upper back to help soothe her stress.
Once again, everyone spends the next few minutes shaking their heads in amazement and wonder. How many times in one day can you catch a coven of vamps by surprise?
Renesmee suddenly lets out a short, abrupt laugh. "Okay, I can't believe that first I thought I dreamt her. Then, in the next moment I was convinced that somehow the Volturi snuck past you all and stole her from my side. Motherhood is messing with my head."
"It'll do that." Bella and Esme say in unison and then both chuckle. "But, to be fair, you couldn't see her... "
"Uncle Jasper! Why didn't you calm me down during all of that nonsense?"
"Believe me! I was certainly trying my dear. I suppose a new mother's anxiety and concern for her young must overrule all."
"Ok. Well, now that we all have our heads back, we know that Mourning Dove is real, here, safe with us, and quite talented." Carlisle begins. "And with that, I think it is time to start some initial medical and physical assessments of each child."
Emmett and Jasper leave the room and Edward has begun to play some gentle tunes on Renesmee's bedroom piano.
"I've brought the nourishments!" Alice helpfully supplies as she springs into the room while balancing an ornate, silver tray filled with various containers. "Bella will help her daughter start feedings with Wren while you start your assessments of Nightingale. Alice points to Nightingale then sings a little jingle to him, "Little-mister-first-born!"He reaches up to her and she scoops him up in her arms, swirls around and around in a perfect pirouette that is so Alice. He lets out an adorable squeal of delight. Renesmee and Jacob beam from ear to ear at the sound.
"Yes, good plan Alice." Carlisle opens his medical bag and takes out his notebook, finger sticks, testing strips, test tubes and other items to get started. Alice passes Nightingale to Rose who is sitting in a comfy chair next to Carlisle. Nightingale smiles up at Rose and then smiles over at his great-grandpa. Their hearts melt as Nightingale shows his precious, perfect-toothed smile, reminiscent of Edward's and Jacob's smiles. While Carlisle sets up, Rose coos and plays with Nightingale while giving him little kisses. Nightingale's response is more smiling and cherry whistling noises that take the place of giggling.
"Oh! It is like he's a sweet, little birdy singing a song! That's soo cute!" Rose's beautiful face looks pleasantly surprised like it's the first time she's really heard his song.
Renesmee looks up from what she is doing and says, "Yes, Exactly, Aunty Rose! I could hear that beautiful whistling song of his every night in my dreams.
"Awe, he's so precious and happy and so good-natured!" Bella observes from across the room. Bella suddenly can't resist flying across the room to give Nightingale a quick kiss and then return to Renesmee's side in that same second. He's taken by surprise and laughs loudly. Edward stops playing and everyone adores the lovely sound of Nightingale's babyish giggle. Bella smiles at him, "So very precious."
Carlisle takes Nightingale into his arms and records the baby's second weight measurement which he determines is 7.8 pounds. Both Nightingale and Grackle were exactly 7 pounds at birth earlier that afternoon. Carlisle hands the happy baby back to Rose and continues his findings. He pricks the baby's finger and presses a test strip to the drop of bright-red blood that appears. Rose is completely un-affected by the blood from the times they have all spent being around it; Bella's pregnancy nourishment, Renesmee's diet as a baby and her frequent pregnancy cravings of cups of donated human blood.
Since, the baby didn't even flinch at the finger prick, Carlisle notes that the babies probably have a high pain tolerance. There is a possibility that the kids won't feel pain at all, which up until today, was the case for Renesmee. Carlisle continues recording results in his notebook. He finishes up with Nightingale and asks Alice to bring Grackle over to Rose. Alice stands up from her chair and prances over to the bed to pick up the sleeping baby.
Grackle protests with a little whining in his sleep as Alice lifts him off of a pillow. Everyone laughs but Jacob is too loud and Grackle wakes up from the noise. He's wide-eyed and his mouth turns to a pout and he starts cackling a high-pitched cry. Renesmee and Bella both yell out "Oh baby!" and "It's okay!" at the same time. Renesmee looks torn as she wants to jump up from Mourning Dove and Wren's side to help Grackle. She doesn't though because she knows her aunt is capable of soothing him.
"Ohhh nooo! Don't cry my silly, little nephew… it's okay." Alice quietly talks to Grackle while holding him close and rocking him in her arms. He stops crying and stares back up at her with a mad face and pouty lips. His grouchy expression makes her giggle, "I'm sorry to wake you sleepy head but your Great-Grandpa Car wants to hold you and check you out."
"Here, give him to me." Bella pleads after flitting to Alice's side in a split second. She takes the pouty baby into her own arms and stares into his yellow, tear-stained eyes. "Hello, Grackle. I am your Gamma Bella, and I love you."
Slowly, his pouty lips turn to a full smile. Grackle telepathically sends her a message, I love you too Gamma. I know you. We heard your voice. Reading stories to us.
Everyone watches to see Bella's face go from loving, to amazed, to adoring. She lets out a big breath of air that she was holding and she looks like she could cry happy tears as she continues to stare into Grackle's eyes. They both continue to look into each other's eyes when finally Esme asks, "What did he tell you?"
Edward flies to Bella's side and answers to everyone, "He loves her." Bella lets out another puff then looks up into Edward's eyes and smiles at him. Edward takes her and the baby into an embrace, "Could you ever have imagined that we would be surrounded by this much more love and wonder?" Bella answers him with a slight shake of her head and a look of intense love. Edward slowly leads Bella by the elbow over to Carlisle and Rose where she hands over an agreeable baby.
Carlisle begins his assessments of Grackle while Bella returns to Renesmee's side to help begin feedings with Wren and then Mourning Dove. Esme pulls a privacy curtain around the bed just enough to cover her daughter-in-law. Renesmee tightly swaddles baby Wren in a light-weight blanket and puts his mouth to her breast. "Come to mama, my little one." Renesmee deeply hopes that her children will be human enough to be breast-fed. No one knows if she will be human enough to produce milk. Wren does not open his mouth to feed but wriggles his hands free of the blanket to hold onto his mother's bare skin at her collarbone. He smiles up at her and shows her pictures of their encounter right after his birth. He loves to see her giggling at him and re-plays that scene over and over. He cuddles into her chest and falls asleep… the picture of her giggling slowly fades to gray and is replaced by colorful images, sounds and shapes.
"He's fallen back to sleep," Renesmee whispers.
"Do you want to try with Mourning Dove?" Esme suggests.
"Yes, please." Renesmee hands Wren to her mother and Esme hands off Mourning Dove. Renesmee is glad to be holding her daughter again so soon. She offers a silent little prayer that her daughter will learn to breast feed now. Mourning Dove is asleep, as usual, and Renesmee is nervous about how to wake her. "She hasn't opened her eyes yet or when she was first born… " Paranoia starts to creep back into her mind as she wonders all sorts of scenarios as to why she hasn't opened her eyes yet.
"That's okay, dear. All babies aren't the same. She just needs more time than the boys. She'll get there."
My mother's words are like a salve to a burn, and now that I know what a burn feels like… I look down at my content baby girl and know my mom is right. I pull her close to my face to kiss her forehead and she mews in her sleep and grabs on to the back of my neck. She nuzzles into the crook of my shoulder and neck. I leave her there for a while to enjoy the bonding but then I become anxious to try feeding her. My babies must be starving by now; it's been more than five hours since they were born.
I whisper sweet nothings into her ear as I slowly transfer her face to my breast. I place her mouth there and move her lips against my nipple to stimulate a feeding instinct. I suddenly worry that she'll bite me. I still can't believe I bit my mom in the chest. I instantly regretted doing it though.
She doesn't respond to it and Renesmee is wracked with sadness. Edward hears her inner turmoil and is at her side that moment to cheer her on. Jacob, too, tells her encouraging words and kisses her cheeks.
Esme says, "They must get too cozy once they get into your arms, they just conk out. Look, Nightingale looks wide awake. How about Jacob try feeding him?"
Renesmee smiles to Jacob, "Yes, that's a great idea. You try sweetheart."
"I'd love to try! Bring me that little man o' mine." Alice hands russet-skinned Nightingale to Jacob. Jacob holds him like a baby and then waves his hand for a bottle.
Alice asks everyone "What should we try first? The milk, formula, blood, or pureed raw meats?"
Jacob answers, "Doubt it'll be formula. Since I'd prefer meat, let's go with that first." He brings the nipple to the baby's mouth. "Mmmm, buddy, this is good stuff. Look at daddy, I like it." Jacob mock drinks the bottle and then puts it back to baby's mouth. Nightingale clamps his lips shut, shakes his head and swats the bottle away. "Dang, he's fiesty! I like it!" Jacob signals for the next bottle. Alice chooses the milk bottle from the silver platter. Same thing happens.
Meanwhile, everyone looks at Grackle who is fussing in Carlisle's grasp. Jacob doesn't notice Grackle huff and whine and point towards his mom, so Jake continues to try feeding his baby. Grackle gets their attention and looks right into his mom's eyes and sends her a telepathic message.
"Guess we try the O neg." Jacob is about to try the blood bottle when Renesmee yells, "Stop! Grackle just told me..."
No milk. No blood. No food. We don't need it.