Chapter 7

Flood

25 Weeks…

Over the last five weeks, Renesmee and Jacob had been thinking about what their friends had told them. That people who are having babies together are usually married or dating; that since they were having a baby together, they should try dating. The subject had been dropped five weeks ago when it had been asked, but that doesn't mean that it had left their minds.

Recently, whenever they were around each other, they had this awkward dance, each wondering if the other knew what they were thinking. About the baby, about their relationship. That secretly, although Renesmee constantly denied it when Alex asked, she was developing feelings for her partner. That Jacob couldn't keep his mind off of her. Renesmee was all that Jacob had thought about for the last six months.

Jacob kept thinking back to what Relic had told him last month.

"Look, sir, all I'm saying is that despite the fact that this whole baby thing was accidental, it shouldn't stop you from trying that kind of relationship with her."

Renesmee kept thinking about what Alex had told her.

"Are you two going to raise the baby as you are now, or are you going to try dating?"

They knew that what that baby needed was a home with two parents who loved and cared for him. He needed a home that was in one piece, not two, or three. A baby needed a home where the parents loved each other. Not a home where the parents barely knew each other.

They had fifteen weeks to get to know each other better. They had fifteen weeks left to figure out what the hell they were doing, before their son arrived.

xXx

"What about 'Michael'?" Renesmee asked Jacob, as she flipped through the book of baby names she had open.

Renesmee was lying across Jacob's couch, her head resting in his lap. Jacob rested his hand over Renesmee's stomach, trying to feel for his son's kicks.

"Michael?" Jacob raised his eyebrows, looking down at his partner's face.

"I like it," Renesmee defended. "Michael Edward Cullen. It has a nice ring to it."

"Cullen?" Jacob asked. "I thought that since we were having a boy, it would be obvious that he would take my name."

"He's not just your son, may I remind you." Renesmee ran her hand down her protruding stomach.

"What if we hyphenate the names?" Jacob offered.

"We have a few weeks to figure it out…" Renesmee thought. "You don't like 'Michael'?"

Jacob shook his head. "It's an overused name. I just don't like 'Mike'."

"Well…" Renesmee thought for a few moments.

"Nessie," Jacob said, interrupting her thoughts. "We have fifteen weeks to figure out a name. We don't have to get one right at this moment."

Renesmee sighed. "It'd be nice to have a name for him, since we know we're having a boy."

"Let's just give it a few weeks."

Renesmee sighed. "Fine." She said, sort of annoyed with Jacob. "I just thought that it would be nice to call him something other than 'The Baby', or 'Him', you know?"

"And we'll think of a name eventually," Jacob replied. "But for now, I think we have more important things to be thinking about."

"Like what?" Renesmee asked, putting the baby names book over her belly. Her thoughts quickly went to their relationship.

Jacob's thoughts hit their relationship also. True, he wanted to talk about furthering their relationship, but he avoided the topic.

"Well, you and Sky should get to know each other more," He said, quickly thinking of his sister.

Renesmee raised her eyebrow, questioning Jacob.

"Well, you are going to be forever linked to my sister through the baby. I think that you two should at least get to know each other a little more."

"And how are you suggesting we do that?"

"I don't know," Jacob furrowed his brows. "Go shopping? How do girls get to know each other?"

"Well, I think Alex has her on the guest list for the shower."

Jacob nodded. "That explains the call I got."

"What call?"

"Sky called, asking who 'Alexandria Dupree' was, and how she had gotten on the guest list for the shower."

Renesmee nodded as best she could with her head in his lap. "So, we can talk there."

"That's a start." Jacob smiled.

There was a few moments' silence: a world of possibilities between the two. They looked into each other's eyes, and for a few moments, they didn't know what to say. They were lost in their eyes. Renesmee subconsciously reached out, and grabbed hold of Jacob's hand.

They were interrupted, however, when the sharp beeps of Renesmee's pager rang through the apartment. Renesmee sat up as fast as she could.

"Nessie, let me help you," Jacob stood up, and helped his partner get up from the couch.

"I can get up myself," Renesmee defended, as she went in search of her pager.

"I'm pregnant, not disabled."

Jacob followed Nessie into her room, where her pager was resting on the nightstand, next to her bed.

"Nine-one-one?" Renesmee furrowed her brows, as she read the page.

"I have to go." Renesmee's tone of voice suddenly got serious, as she looked from her pager to Jacob.

Quickly, she found her shoes and purse, and ran out the door as fast as she could. She raced to Children's, but when she arrived, she couldn't find King anywhere near the ambulance dispatch, the helicopter pad, or the trauma center.

"I'm looking for Dr. Chloe King," Renesmee said, when she found a nurses' station.

"I got a nine-one-one."

The nurse, whom Renesmee knew as Mark, furrowed his eyebrows.

"I haven't heard of an emergencies," He started. "But if King paged you, you'll find her in conference room one."

"Thanks, Mark." Renesmee smiled.

"Hey!" Mark called, as Renesmee began to walk away. She stopped, and turned back to the nurse.

"Yes?" Renesmee raised her eyebrows.

"You have a new picture of that baby?"

Renesmee laughed. "That seems to be the question of the day, Mark." She looked through her purse, and found the most recent picture of her son. She handed it to Mark, who smiled upon receiving it.

"He sure is handsome." Mark said, handing the picture back to the surgical intern.

"Did you guys get a name for him yet?"

"We're working on it." Renesmee replied, tucking the picture back where it had been.

"Well, if you ever need to look for a namesake…" Mark smiled.

Renesmee laughed, as she slowly began to walk away. "Thanks, Mark, but I think I'm going to have to take a rain check on that."

"Whatever you say, Dr. Cullen." Renesmee heard Mark laugh, as she continued down the hall, in search of the conference room.

"That's odd…" Renesmee murmured to herself, as she came upon the conference room. The lights were off, and there didn't appear to be anyone in the room.

Still, she decided to go into the room, just in case. When she walked into the room, the lights suddenly turned on, and Renesmee was confronted with several of her coworkers and friends.

"Surprise!" They shouted, as Renesmee stood in the doorway, shocked. Alex came over, and placed a party hat over her friend's head.

"Alex," Renesmee said, nearly laughing, "what the hell?"

"Uh, your baby shower?" Alex said, motioning to the light and dark blue decorations around the conference room, and the assortment of food on the long table, complete with a cake with white frosting, and blue trimming that read It's a Boy!

"Ah…" Renesmee nodded, remembering Alex mentioning planning a shower.

"Well, now that the guest of honor is here, let's get this party started!" Alex, said, bringing Renesmee around to the center of the room.

Alex, directing the party, had everyone gather around the room for games. The first one, Spoon Pictures, hadn't really had anything to do with baby showers, but was still fun nonetheless. A few other games were played, including one where you had to sniff the chocolate-y contents of a diaper to guess the chocolate bar that was melted inside.

Gifts were given, Renesmee had received nearly everything that she and Jacob would need; a Classic Pooh travel stroller that included an infant car seat, a blue and black pack'n'play playyard for newborns-toddlers, clothes, bottles, a light blue wrap baby carrier, a beige rocking bassinet, a designer diaper bag, a jungle-themed newborn bouncer, breast pumps, a green Boppy, and even some bed sheets, and a black and blue mobile with little white teddy bears. Honestly, the only thing left for Jacob and Renesmee to buy was a crib, a dresser, and a changing table.

The shower had ended up being a hit. Alex had even planned a little onesie decoration station, where Renesmee had made an anatomically correct diagram of the human heart. While she was designing the onesie, Skyla sat next to her, and began her own design.

"Skyla, right?" Renesmee asked, looking over at her partner's sister.

"Call me Sky," Skyla replied, swirling a blue gel/paint substance over the white onesie.

"Sky, then." Renesmee smiled.

"Is that a heart?" Skyla asked, looking over Renesmee's onesie.

Renesmee blushed. "Yeah…I'm hoping to specialize in pediatric cardiology."

"That's really cool," The twenty-one year old smiled.

"I like yours, too." Renesmee commented. "It's very artistic."

"Oh, please," Skyla said. "I have much better work at my loft."

"You're an artist?"

It was now Skyla's turn to blush. "More like an aspiring one. I still need to find the time to enroll at the Art Institute of Seattle." Skyla switched the blue for the red, and she ran it vertically up and down the onesie.

"So, what have you been up to?" Renesmee asked, tracing the pathway of de-oxygenated blood through the heart.

"Clay," Skyla answered. "I've found a new love." She smiled, but only for a second, before returning back to the onesie.

"My, uh, therapist said that I could focus my feelings about what happened into my art; especially with the use of clay. So, I went to the art supply store, and picked up a pound or two of the stuff. I came home, blasted my music, and poured myself into the art…my anger, hurt, the pain. Everything." Skyla switched the red for the purple, dragging it diagonally across the onesie.

"You wouldn't believe how amazing I felt after that…after pouring myself into the art." Skyla shook her head with a small smile on her face.

"I can imagine." Renesmee smiled. She started tracing the pathway of oxygenated blood.

"So, have you and Jake thought up of any names for my nephew?"

"It's…getting there." Renesmee said.

"You suggested the name 'Michael', didn't you?" Skyla laughed a little.

"I don't see what's so bad about 'Michael'," The pregnant woman said. "I think it's a beautiful name."

The young artist shook her head. "God only knows. Have you guys gotten a middle name, or figured out his last name?"

"Middle name…possibly. Last name, not so much."

"What's the middle name?"

"Edward. It's my father's name, and I've always had it in my mind that I would have a son with my father's name as his middle name."

"That's sweet," Skyla smiled.

Renesmee smiled, as she finished the diagram. "Thanks. Jake hasn't said anything about that name, so I think we're good on that."

Skyla smirked, and almost laughed. "Well, that's very good. As long as my nephew doesn't have some name like 'Loki', I'm good."

Renesmee shook her head with a laugh.

After the shower, since Renesmee didn't have to work, the two women went to a nearby Starbucks to talk a little more. They had exchanged a little bit of their life stories, how and why Renesmee became a surgeon, and when Skyla became interested in art. Soon, talk turned to the baby, and from there, it turned into talk about Jacob.

"So, where do you and my brother stand, anyway?" Skyla asked, setting her Frappuccino on the table.

Renesmee looked vexed. "What do you mean?"

"Like, where do you stand…?" Skyla thought for a moment. "Are you guys friends, are you going to try dating…can you even stand being in the same room as him? That sort of stuff."

Renesmee nodded slowly. "Well…we're living together. I guess you could say that we're pretty good friends now, I mean, we sort-of have to be, if we're going to raise this baby together."

"So, are you two like only together because of the baby?" Skyla furrowed her eyebrows.

"I guess…" Renesmee was still confused.

"Do you like my brother or not?" Skyla asked blatantly. "That's what I want to know."

Renesmee's cheeks turned bright red, and Skyla's eyes gleamed. "You do," She accused. This made Renesmee blush even harder. She could feel the heat in her face, as the blood rushed to her head.

"Why don't you do anything?" Skyla asked. "Ask the guy out, for Christ's sake! Just because you're pregnant, and it was a total accident, doesn't mean that you can't try that kind of relationship with my brother…he is the father. Why not try to bring my nephew into a family with parents who're at least dating."

"Because…" Renesmee thought for a moment, feeling like she was sixteen all-over again.

"Because, what if he doesn't feel the same? What if it ruins what we already have? I just…" Renesmee placed her hand over her bulging six-month stomach.

"I don't think it would be good for the baby if his parents can't even look each other in the eye. If his parents are so focused on their relationship that they can't even take care of him."

"Nessie," Skyla said. "My brother is head over heels in love with you. You're all he thinks about. He's just too chicken to say anything to you."

"He…is?" Renesmee asked. "How do you know?"

"I'm his sister." Skyla said simply. "I know everything about my brother, whether or not he knows it."

"Like what?" Renesmee asked, not believing the twenty-one year old.

"Like…" Skyla thought for a moment. "Like how when he goes to Starbucks, he'll look at the menu for ten minutes, trying to think of what he wants, but then order the Grande Caffé Misto. I know that he wanted to be a mechanic when he was in high school, but when Dad left, all he wanted to do was protect me, so he became a cop. I know that the only thing he orders from Joe's is Duncan Taylor Scotch, and if he's had a hard day, he goes for a few rounds of Jack Daniel's. I know that the first time he got wasted was at a high school party. I know that he has a stash of playboy magazines in the bottom drawer of his desk at the SPD station. Nessie, I know that when he's in love with a girl, that he becomes this total idiot around her. That he wouldn't leave her for anyone. I've only seen that once, and the reason why he isn't with that girl today, was because she broke his heart."

Renesmee twirled her straw, with a small laugh. "I can't believe that I'm getting dating advice from someone who's five years younger than I am."

Skyla shrugged. "Some are just more gifted, I guess."

"So, you really think that we should give this a shot?"

"I don't think." Skyla corrected. "I know."