Chapter 11

Fly

36 Weeks…

The couple had moved into the house last week. The nursery was painted blue, but that was about it. Boxes filled the nursery, from floor to ceiling, it seemed. They still had a few weeks before their son would arrive. They still had some time to finish the room.

Renesmee was more than ready to be finished with her last week of work. As the weeks went on, the more she hated being pregnant, and the stress of work didn't exactly help. She was always on her feet, and all she wanted to do was lie down, and rest. She knew that once the baby was here, she wouldn't get anymore. Not that she wasn't use to it, but it would be different waking up at two a.m. because of a crying baby, versus being up at two a.m. in the E.R.

Jacob was becoming anxious about the baby's arrival. Just like Renesmee feared that she would become her mother, Jacob feared that he would be his father. After his mother died, his father became distant. He was almost never home, leaving Jacob and Skyla to fend for themselves most of the time. He told himself that he wouldn't be like his father, but, everyone always said that. That they wouldn't be like their parents…but they did.

Jacob figured that they would just have to take it one day at a time. He knew that it would be rough—the pregnancy had been an accident, after all—but, they could do it. Eventually, things would work themselves out.

xXx

All day, Renesmee's back had been killing her. She blamed the fact that her son liked to kick her spine, and those Braxton Hicks contractions that had started last week. She already had a few earlier today. All she wanted to do was get off of her feet, but she had charts to fill, as well as post and pre-ops that King was constantly riding her about.

The only time she got to sit down was when she and Alex had lunch. This, of course, was interrupted by a page to the E.R., where the two would meet Dr. King for whatever reason they were paged.

"Seriously, Nessie, you should find an on-call room or something," Alex said, as the two were in the elevator.

"You should really get some rest,"

"There's only a few more hours before my day ends." Renesmee said, as they left the elevator and walked down the hall towards the E.R.

"Then, I'll have at least a few weeks' rest before he comes."

The two rounded the corner, and Renesmee paled, feeling a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. Clutching the rail that was attached to the wall, she collapsed slightly, cradling her large abdomen with her other hand. Squeezing her eyes shut, she let out a pained gasp.

"Nessie!" Alex rushed to her friend's side, and held her up. "Are you okay?"

"Fine." Renesmee panted, trying to push herself up. "Just a Braxton Hicks contraction, I've been having them for a week." She brushed the pain aside, as it passed. It had been her most painful yet, but she wasn't worried.

"Are you sure?" Alex asked, as her friend eventually got herself up, and started walking down the hall. The short woman followed her friend, and as she caught up behind her, she saw that there was blood on the rear of her light blue scrubs.

"Nessie," Alex said, quickly running up to Renesmee's side. She noticed that her face was almost devoid of all color, and she watched as her friend collapsed, screaming in pain.

xXx

Jacob's day had been filled with paperwork surrounding the murder trial, and hearing the news that the officer in the ICU at Harborview had died, which meant that there would be another trial.

Just what he needed. Two murder trials—one surrounding the murder of an officer—right before, during, and after the birth of his son. Just…brilliant.

"Sergeant," Jacob looked up to find his partner standing next to him at his desk.

"Officer," Jacob acknowledged the young man's presence.

"There's a lost kid here, and she's not talking."

"Well, where is she, Relic?" Jacob asked.

"She's with Detective Malone, sir, but she asked for you. Says you're really good with kids like this."

"And where's Malone?" Jacob stood up, and started walking away from his desk.

"In her office, sir."

Jacob headed towards Malone's office, and walked in. Malone was sitting at her desk, talking to the little girl, who was sitting in a chair opposite Malone. She looked about four or five, with big, blue eyes, and hair so blond, it looked almost white. She looked up at Jacob as he closed the door to the office, and he noticed that she had tears running down her cheeks.

Malone got up from her chair, and got on the balls of her feet to talk to the girl.

"This is Sergeant Black," She said. The girl looked from Jacob to the red-haired detective.

"He's just going to ask you a few questions, and talk to you, like I did. Okay?"

The little girl nodded quickly, and the detective smiled. She got up, and walked out of the room, giving Jacob a pat on the shoulder.

"It's all you, Black." She said, opening the door. She left, closing it behind her.

Jacob smiled, walking up to the little girl, whose eyes followed him as he got down to her level.

"I'm Jake." He said, resting his arms against the arm of the chair. "What's your name?"

The girl blinked in response. Jacob thought that she was just a little shy, or scared, so he pulled out his badge.

"You see this?" He asked, handing it to her. "This is my badge; it means that I'm a cop. You can talk to me, don't be scared."

The girl looked at the shiny, gold colored badge, and then back up at Jacob.

"What's your name?" He asked again.

"Rose," The girl answered.

Jacob grinned. "Hi, Rose. How old are you?"

"Four and a half," She held up four fingers.

"Did you lose your parents?"

She nodded.

"Do you know what happened?"

"I was playing in the park, and I went on the big jungle gym, and when I was done they were gone." She sniffled.

Jacob mentally made a note about possible abandonment, and noticed that Rose had a nasty cut above her eye and another on her knee.

"Where did you get those owies?" Jacob pointed out the cuts.

"I fell off the swings," She sniffled again.

"Was your mommy and daddy there then?"

Rose thought for a moment, and

"Is it okay if I take a look at your cuts?"

Rose instantly shook her head. "No," She said. "They hurt."

Jacob knew that she would have to be looked at in an E.R. He decided that he would have to take her to Children's, since it was the closest to the station.

"How would you like to go for a ride in a police car?"

Rose's face brightened. "Really?"

Jacob nodded, and helped the girl from the chair. She walked with a slight limp due to the cut on her knee, so he helped her walk from the station, and to his car. He drove her to the E.R., and radio'd Relic, telling him to keep an eye out for the girl's parents. When they arrived at Children's, Jacob carried her into the E.R., and waited with her for an available doctor. After about fifteen minutes, a short, stacked black woman came up to the bed, and smiled at the little girl.

"What do we have here?" She asked Jacob, not looking up from the girl.

"A lost four year old." Jacob stated. "She came to the station about an hour ago, and I took her down here when I saw the injuries."

"I'm four and a half!" Rose said.

The black woman laughed. "Alright, four and a half." She smiled. "What's your name?"

"Rose."

"Hi, Rose, I'm Dr. King," She said. "How did you get hurt?" She tried to examine the cut above her eye, but Rose quickly moved her head.

"No! It hurts when you touch it." She whimpered.

"What if I can fix it, so it doesn't hurt anymore?" Dr. King asked.

Rose thought for a moment. "Will it hurt?"

"A little bit," Dr. King said honestly. "But not as much as it will if I don't fix it."

Rose was quiet, while she thought. After a few minutes, she agreed.

King called a nurse to watch the girl, and she told Jacob to come with her while she got the supplies that she would need for the stitches.

"What's her situation?" King asked as they walked into a medical supply room.

"She lost her parents at the park." Jacob said. "From what she told me, I'm thinking that it was a possible abandonment."

"Have you gotten ahold of the girl's parents?"

"We don't know the last name, but they're on the lookout for the parents back at the station,"

"Well, we can keep her here until the parents are located." King said, as the two walked back to Rose.

"Okay, Rose, I'm going to give you a little shot, but it's going to make it so that your cuts don't hurt anymore, okay?"

Rose's eyes widened in fear.

"You can hold my hand if you want, Rose." Jacob said, holding out his hand to the little girl.

Rose placed her small hand in Jacob's large one. After about fifteen, or twenty minutes, both of her cuts were stitched, and she was given a small room that she would be in until they found her parents. Which they did, ten minutes later.

The small family was taken to the station, where her parents would be interviewed, to see about the possibility of the abandonment theory.

Jacob decided to see if he could find Renesmee. Looking around the E.R., he saw her and Alex rounding the corner. He watched, slightly worried, as Renesmee clung to a wall railing. She looked like she was in pain, but she pulled herself up, and continued walking towards the E.R.

Until he saw her collapse on the floor, clutching her abdomen, screaming in pain. He raced down the hall, as Alex fell to her knees at her side.

"What happened?" Jacob asked Alex, as she instructed a passing by doctor to get an ambulance for Renesmee.

"I don't know…" Alex said; her voice shaky. "She said that it was just false labor, but she's bleeding, and…"

Renesmee moaned in pain, and Alex lifted part of her body on her lap.

"It's too early…" Renesmee muttered, grabbing Jacob's hand. "Jacob, it's too early…"

"Everything will be fine." Jacob assured, stroking Renesmee's hand. "I promise, everything's going to be fine."

Renesmee felt another contraction, and squeezed Jacob's hand, and whimpered in pain.

"No, Jacob, this it." Renesmee panted. "And it's too early."

A couple doctors came by, and helped Renesmee onto the stretcher.

As the three went towards the ambulance dispatch, where Renesmee's ambulance was waiting to take her to Swedish, Mark looked up her emergency information, and found only one number he could call.

Dr. Edward Cullen, Head of Trauma Center, Overlake Medical Center.

xXx

Edward's day had been relatively uneventful. Bella's shift had ended over two hours ago, and he still had the rest of the night.

He was in the middle of surgery when he got a call from Seattle Children's.

"Dr. Cullen," The scrub nurse, Annie, said, holding up his phone. "It's from Children's."

Seattle Children's. That's where his daughter was doing her residency. Why would they call him?

Unless...

"Bring me the phone," Edward told her.

Annie took Dr. Cullen's phone, and held it to his ear.

"Dr. Cullen," He answered.

"Yes, this is Mark Stone, from Seattle Children's," Mark said. "Are you Dr. Renesmee Cullen's father?"

"Yes, I am." Edward said, suddenly thinking the worst.

"We need you to go to Swedish right away," Mark said. "There's been an emergency. She's on her way now."

"Can I know what happened?" Edward's mouth suddenly went dry.

"It appears that she started bleeding," Mark said. "And she's going into preterm labor."

"Labor?" Edward furrowed his brows. There was a click, and the line went dead.

"Holmes, finish this for me," Edward said, stripping off his gloves. "I need to find my daughter."

He scrubbed out of the surgery, and ran out of Overlake, not caring to change out of his scrubs, or to call Bella to tell her about Nessie. He wanted to get to Swedish, and fast.

xXx

"Don't…leave…me," Renesmee told Jacob, as she fought for consciousness.

"I won't," Jacob promised.

"Don't…leave…me…"

The monitor Renesmee was attached to started going off, and Renesmee's eyes closed. Alex helped the paramedics, while Jacob clung to her hand.

"Come on, Nessie, stay with us…" He pleaded.

"There's more bleeding," One paramedic said. "We need to get her to Swedish, stat!"

No sooner had the instructions left his mouth then they had arrived at the ambulance dispatch of Swedish, where they met Dr. Montgomery. Alex rattled off her stats, as they rushed straight to the O.R.

They arrived at the doors that lead to the O.R. hall, and Jacob and Alex were stopped by Montgomery.

"We can't have family in the O.R." She said. "We'll keep you two updated."

Alex flashed her Children's I.D. badge. "I'm a surgeon," She said. "They told me to stay with her."

Montgomery thought for a few moments, and decided to let Alex join. She turned to Jacob as they continued down the hall.

"I'll keep you posted." She turned, and ran down to catch up with Montgomery, leaving Jacob standing at the swinging doors, in complete shock.

xXx

An hour passed, before Edward finally arrived at Swedish. Running from the parking lot to the lobby, he asked about Renesmee.

"Are you her father?" The nurse asked.

"Yes," Edward replied, slightly annoyed.

"She's just been taken down to surgery." The nurse said. "You can wait for her in the surgical waiting area, just up two floors, and down to your right."

Edward thanked her, and ran to the elevators. After getting out, he ran down the hall, towards the waiting area. He found an empty chair next to an SPD officer, still in his uniform, and disgruntled looking. He was on the phone, and had his free hand rubbing his temple.

Edward sat next to him, and let out a sigh. He still wondered how he didn't know about Renesmee's pregnancy. Sure, they're close relationship strained when she left for college, but she would still call him from time to time.

He didn't even know that she had a boyfriend…or a fiancée.

Jacob finished the conversation with Skyla, and hung up. She would be there in a few hours, most likely, after she was out of surgery. It would be a few hours before she was out.

The hours passed slowly. Jacob and Edward both looked back at the door every five minutes, wondering when she would come out. Finally, after two hours of waiting (one hour for Edward), Alex came from the double doors. Jacob and Edward both shot up, and ran to the short woman, not realizing that the other was there. Alex looked shocked to see her friend's father.

"Dr. Cullen?" She furrowed her eyebrows, and looked up at the man in the dark blue scrubs. Jacob quickly realized that he was standing next to Renesmee's father, and wondered if she had told him about the baby.

"Is she okay?" Edward asked. "What happened?"

"Well, Jacob, Dr. Cullen…" Alex started.

"Jacob?" Edward turned, and found an SPD officer standing next to him.

"Heh," Jacob rubbed a hand behind his neck. "You must be Nessie's father."

"And who are you?" Edward narrowed his eyes.

"I'm…I'm, uh…"

"He's the father." Alex said. "Jacob, this is Edward Cullen, Nessie's dad. Dr. Cullen, this is Sergeant Jacob Black. I, uh…introduced them."

"How long have you been dating my daughter?"

Jacob didn't want to look him in the eye. "About, uh…about sixteen weeks, sir. We meet about eight months ago."

Edward was now even more confused. "Only sixteen weeks?"

"It's a long story…"

Alex knew where this was headed, and she quickly joined back in the conversation.

"Nessie and the baby are fine. He's up in the NICU, getting checked out, and she's being moved to maternity. She'll be awake in a few minutes."

"What happened?" Jacob asked.

"The placenta, an organ which delivers nutrients to the baby, was tearing away from the uterine wall, which caused the bleeding, and the preterm labor. Usually, they admit the patient into the hospital, to keep an eye on her. But, Nessie started bleeding too much, and Montgomery had to start an emergency cesarean." Alex explained.

"And the baby…?" Jacob asked worriedly.

"Well, Jacob, Dr. Cullen, Nessie was only thirty-six weeks, and full term for babies are anywhere between thirty-seven, and forty-two weeks. So, despite the fact that Nessie's due date was set for June twenty-sixth, four weeks from today, he's not that much of a preemie. He's just like any other baby. He's about six pounds, nineteen inches long. They just wanted to take him up to NICU to check him out, but they're sending him down to the nursery in a few minutes."

"So, he's okay?" Edward asked.

"Yes," Alex smiled. "And frankly, Jacob, Dr. Cullen, he's the best looking baby I've seen. And I should know—I work with babies."

Edward smiled lightly. A grandson. He'd never guess that this news would bring him so much joy, especially not the way that he'd received the news that his daughter was pregnant.

He turned to Jacob, who was also smiling. "Jacob," He said, wrapping an arm around the sergeant's shoulders.

"I think that you have some explaining to do."