Chapter 11
I pushed myself up, and stood in front of the mirror, slowly taking off my robe. I slid my hand down my abdomen, paying special care to my lower abdomen. It was a change that would be naked to the human eye, but I could just make it out.
Jacob walked into the room, and set the water glass on the counter.
"Everything okay?" He knitted his eyebrows together, confused.
"I…" I started, not sure what to say. I looked down, back at my reflection, and then at Jacob.
"I think I might be pregnant."
xXx
Neither of us moved from our spots, and neither of us spoke. From the way the silence settled in the air around us, you would think that time had stopped moving. I could feel the seconds tick by, and my gaze didn't leave his; waiting for his response.
"Pregnant?" He whispered.
"Yes…" I started. "No…" I shook my head.
"I don't know," I said quietly, looking down.
"I mean, the only other time I was sick was in June, when I found out I was pregnant. I've never been sick before that."
"Are…are you sure, Ness?" Jacob wrapped his hands around my arms, his eyes searching my face.
"I mean, I haven't taken a test or anything, but I've never been sick before, Jacob. And now that I think about it, I was supposed to get my period a week ago. It still hasn't come yet."
"We should get a test," Jacob said, his voice wavering. "I mean, to be sure, right?"
I nodded slowly. "Yeah. I don't want to wait, though. Is there anywhere open at this time of night?"
"I'm sure there is." Jacob gave me a quick kiss. "I'll go look. I'll be back."
He left quickly, leaving me alone in the bathroom. I stood in stunned silence for a few moments, brushing my hand over the flat plane of my stomach.
After what happened in June, I knew that I could get pregnant. But the memories of the miscarriage lingered in the back of my mind, and I couldn't help but wonder if I was able to carry a child to full term—if I was meant to have a child at all. My chest ached, and I could feel tears sting the back of my eyes. I grabbed the glass of water, taking a sip, in hopes of settling my stomach. Nervous energy filled my body, and I could feel my muscles shake.
I left the bathroom, trying to get my mind off the pregnancy. I wandered through the dark, empty house, turning the lights on. I sat on the couch, and turned on the TV, curling my legs to my chest, waiting for Jacob to come back.
xXx
"Nessie?" Jacob murmured, beginning to shake my arm. "Nessie, wake up,"
I moaned, slowly beginning to wake up. "Yeah?" My voice was groggy.
"I got the test," he pulled a small box from a brown paper bag, holding it in front of my face.
"Oh," I sat up, taking the test in my hand. "Yeah."
I stood, and walked to the bathroom, Jacob following behind. I closed the door behind us, beginning to open the box.
"So how does this work?" Jacob asked, taking the instructions. "Do you just pee on it and it tells you?"
"I think it takes a few minutes to test for hormones," I muttered, taking the small stick in my hands.
"Do you want me to wait outside?"
"No…" I sighed. "I mean, if you want to, you can, but—"
"If you want me to stay, I'll stay," Jacob offered.
"I could care less," I shimmied out of my panties, and sat on the toilet, holding the stick between my legs.
"I'll leave you to do your…business," I heard Jacob open the door, and it clicked shut behind him.
I took a deep breath, and let it out slowly, closing my eyes as I started the test. After I was finished, I put the cap back on, and set it on the counter. I took the test, and walked out of the bathroom, where Jacob was waiting.
"So, do you know anything yet?" He asked, voice shaking. He rubbed his hands together, looking between the test and myself.
"It takes a few minutes," I mumbled, mind wandering. "We'll know then."
Jacob nodded slowly, "What do we do until then?"
"Wait?" I replied. "I don't know, the last time I did this I was by myself."
Jacob blew a puff of air from his mouth, and laughed nervously. "Right, right…"
It was silent for a few minutes. I looked between Jacob and the test, waiting for its results. After what seemed like hours, a pink plus sign slowly faded into the result window.
"I'm pregnant," I whispered, looking up at Jacob. I smiled for a moment, laughing lightly.
"It's positive."
"Really?" Jacob's eyes lit up. "You're pregnant?"
I nodded, the smile creeping back across my face. "I'm pregnant."
In a swift move, Jacob lifted me up, spinning me around to the best of his ability in a small hallway. When he set me down, he pressed his lips against mine, cupping the back of my head.
I pulled away from the kiss, feeling hot tears sting the back of my eyes.
"Nessie, what's wrong?" Jacob lifted my face, wiping away some of the tears with the pad of his thumb.
"You're just so happy," I choked on a sob. "I just…" I looked down, letting the tears roll down my cheeks.
"I'm just going to disappoint you. This is going to end up like the last one, and it's going to keep happening. I just don't want you to keep getting your hopes up."
"Oh, Ness," Jacob lifted my chin, and looked into my eyes. "Renesmee, you could never disappoint me."
"I know you want kids," I sniffed. "And I can't give them to you."
"Don't say that," Jacob said sternly. "We don't know that you can't have kids. One miscarriage doesn't determine anything. How many times do we have to tell you that?"
"But what if it happens again, Jacob?" I retorted. "Just because you and everyone else says that it's not going to happen doesn't mean it won't."
"Just because you say it will happen doesn't mean that it will," Jacob countered. He wrapped his arms around my body, pressing me against him.
"I just don't want to get my hopes up." I murmured into his chest. "I'm afraid it's going to happen again."
"Well, maybe we should go home then, and talk to Carlisle. Maybe he can figure something out."
I nodded, moving my head so that my ear was pressed against his chest. I could hear his heart beat inside my head.
"Yeah," I whispered. "Maybe he will."
xXx
We called Carlisle later that morning, and he agreed that we should come home. We immediately packed everything, and headed to the airport, getting tickets for the next flight out to Seattle. When we landed, Jacob and I immediately drove to Forks, heading straight for the hospital where Carlisle would meet us. We ran into the building, and found him in his office.
"Jacob, Renesmee," he nodded, looking up from the patient file he was reading.
"Please, take a seat." He nodded towards the chairs in front his desk, and proceeded to sit in his.
Jacob and I each took a seat, and Carlisle put his file away, searching for a new one.
"Your trip was well, I assume?" He smirked.
I felt my blood rush to my cheeks, as they turned bright red. Jacob laughed nervously.
"Yeah," I nodded slowly. "Paris is wonderful,"
Carlisle chuckled softly. "Yes; I've taken Esme on a few occasions,"
My cheeks burned brighter. I did not want to know that about my grandparents.
"So," Carlisle started, shifting through the pages in the file. "I must first extend my congratulations to the both of you," he smiled.
"Thanks…?" I laughed nervously. "Although I'm not sure if we should be saying that quite yet,"
"Don't be so sure of that, Renesmee," Carlisle replied. "I've done some research while I was waiting for you to come in."
He stood, putting his file away and reaching for another. "Now, the biggest component of your miscarriage was the fact that there was no heartbeat when we did the sonogram," he started, walking back to his desk.
"Now, with the cross-species we've researched, none of them were able to conceive, period. There was no period in their mating periods where they became pregnant, even for a short time. You, on the other hand, have been able to conceive, twice." He looked from the folder to me.
"There is no doubt in my mind that you can carry a child to term, with your history. Our problem then is trying to figure out what happened in June."
"So, then what could have caused it, if it wasn't a gamete problem?" I asked.
"Well, it could be many different things. Stress being a main factor. However, there's one theory that's been stuck in my mind—Renesmee, did you go hunting at all during the time you were pregnant?"
"No…" I said slowly, looking between Carlisle and Jacob. "What would that have to do with anything?"
"Well, between you and Jacob, the perfect DNA mixture would result in a child that is one-fourth vampire, one-fourth human, and one-half shape-shifter. However, perfect mixes rarely, if ever, occur, and with you two, this can cause some issues, such as a miscarriage. I would then conclude that the embryo didn't develop properly due to an environment that was too hostile for it—or because it didn't get the nutrients it required. And that happens more often than you'd think. There are about one in four human pregnancies that end in miscarriage, the majority of which are not related to fertility problems."
"So, I can carry to full term?" I asked, hopeful.
"Well, full-term for you might be different than full-term for a human, but, yes." He smiled.
"Now, there are some tests I'd like to run, to see how far along you are, and such," he stood, and walked towards the door, holding it open.
Jacob and I left the office, and Carlisle led us to the gynecology department, finding a private room for us. I sat up on the bed, with Jacob to my right, holding my hand. I lifted my shirt and laid against the back of the bed. Carlisle's cold hands fluttered around the flat plane of my stomach, speaking quietly to himself.
He pulled out a tape measure, measuring between my breasts and pubic bone.
"Is there a definite time you two think you've conceived?"
I shook my head, and looked over at Jacob. "I don't know. It could have been anywhere between the day after the wedding to a few days ago."
"It's alright," Carlisle said. "It looks to me like you're presenting at about six weeks, but let's take a look at the sonogram,"
He fiddled for a bit with the machine, and squeezed cold gel onto my lower abdomen, and placed the transducer on top of it. It was a few moments before anything showed up on the screen, and when it did, the soft whirr of a heartbeat came with it.
"Oh, my God," I brought my hand to my mouth, and I felt my eyes water.
I looked over at Jacob, and grabbed his hand. "We're really going to have a baby,"
I looked back to the screen, looking at the grape-sized embryo on the screen. "We're going to have a baby,"
"Congratulations," Carlisle smiled, turning off the machine. He handed me a paper towel to wipe the gel off my abdomen.
"I would say six weeks," he confirmed. "You're progressing at a much slower rate than your mother, and I would expect a gestation period between thirteen and fourteen weeks. No more than sixteen at the most." He washed his hands, drying them with a paper towel.
"I would like to measure you from day to day, though, to see if we can narrow down the period. You also need to listen to what your body says; get plenty of rest, drink plenty of water, and eat well, whether it be human food or blood. Whatever your body asks, you do it. Is that clear?"
"Yeah," I nodded, getting off the table. "As a crystal."
"Good," he smiled. "I'll stock up on some donated blood, and bring it by your house."
"See you later," I smiled. I gave Carlisle a hug, and left down the hall with Jacob.
As we began to head home, my mind wandered about the possibilities this child would bring. If this pregnancy went well, could there be others? How many children could Jacob and I have? Hope filled my body as more and more possibilities entered my mind. No longer would our house be empty, but filled with the children I had always dreamed about—the children that Jacob had dreamed about. Beautiful children; mini replicas of Jacob and Daddy, running around our house, screaming, laughing, making a complete mess of everything. And I couldn't wait.
xXx
"Before we go home, I want to stop at the Big House," I said, as Jacob turned onto the main road.
"I'm sure they'll figure it out in less than a second, but I still want to tell them." I smiled, looking down at my currently-flat stomach, rubbing my hand over it.
"Of course," Jacob smiled at me, taking my hand in his.
He drove up the winding road, and parked across from the house. I checked the cars in the driveway, seeing if everyone was home. Jacob opened the car door for me, and when I stepped out, he gave me a long, passionate kiss.
"I love you so much," he said, resting his forehead against mine. "You've made me so happy, Renesmee Black." He placed his hand over my lower abdomen, and kneeled in front of it, placing gentle kisses in the area.
"We love you so much," he said between kisses. "You're only the size of a grape, but your mommy and I love you so, so much."
I laughed, running my fingers through his hair. "You know he can't hear us yet, right?"
Jacob ignored me, instead creating a trail of kisses from my lower abdomen to my mouth. I tangled my fingers through his hair, kissing him back.
"We're going to be parents," he smiled. "We're going to have a baby."
"That's been made very clear," I laughed, as Jacob gave me another kiss.
"But, I think there are some people inside who would like to know."
I could hear Alice's soft squeal from the house. Jacob looked between me and the house, and I raised my eyebrows.
"Let's go in before she destroys the place." Jacob suggested, opening his arms, beginning to lead me in.
"Good idea," I gave him a thumbs-up, and we began to walk into the house.
Everyone was in the living room, waiting for us as I had been expecting. Some members of the family were on the edge of their seats, waiting for us to announce the news they already knew.
"Hi," I waved. "Paris was great, thanks for asking."
"I'm trying really hard to let you have your moment, Nessie," Alice said, practically dying on her seat.
"It's getting very, very difficult for me to do that."
"You're very thoughtful, Alice." I smiled. I heard Jacob chuckle.
"Do you want to say it?" He asked, turning to me. "Or do you want me to?"
"I don't know…." I smiled, almost laughing. I could practically hear Alice and Rose's distress.
"Nessie, I love you, and I love when you screw around with Alice," Uncle Jasper interjected, "but she's driving me up the wall with all of these emotions coursing through her body. It's getting hard for me to control her."
"Alright, alright," I laughed.
"Well…" Jacob looked down at me.
"I'm pregnant!" I screamed. At the same time, Alice and Rose squealed, enveloping me in a hug, all of us bouncing.
"We have to start putting together a nursery, and planning a shower, and buying clothes, and…" Alice beamed, releasing me from the hug.
"Alice, I know you don't, but please, just take a breath." I smiled.
"There's so much we have to do," Rose said.
"We just found out," I said. "Can we, like, give it two weeks before we start planning anything?"
"Alright," Alice conceded. "But I'm going to start looking online for things to buy!" She gave me another hug, before rushing up the stairs, Rose trailing behind her.
"Oh, Renesmee," Mom was next to wrap me into a hug. Daddy stood beside her.
"Oh, my baby's having a baby!" She cried tearlessly. She stretched her arms out and held me at their length, stroking my arms.
"Oh, I'm so happy for you." If she could cry, she would.
Daddy placed his hand on her shoulder, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "Calm down, love."
"I'm just so happy," Mom sniffed. She turned towards Daddy, burying her head in his shoulder.
"Aren't you going to say 'I told you so'?" I smiled, looking at Daddy.
"I'll save that for a later time," Daddy smirked. "Congratulations, love. To both of you." He looked at Jacob, and stretched his free hand towards him. Jacob took it in his own.
"Thank you," Jacob smiled.
I smiled, looking between my husband and father. It always made me happy when the two of them were civil with each other, and it made me even happier that they were being civil at a time I once thought would be impossible for them. My world felt perfect with the both of them getting along.
Uncle Jasper, Uncle Emmett, and Esme each took their turn congratulating us on the pregnancy, each expressing their excitement for the baby. After a while, it became exhausting to be surrounded by all of them, and the ten-and-a-half hour flight finally caught up to me. We said our goodbyes, and headed to our own house.
We left our luggage in the car, saving unpacking for another day. It had already been a long enough day for the both of us. I changed into a pair of sweats and a tank-top I had found in the dressers, and climbed into bed. I felt the weight of the bed shift, and then Jacob's arm slung across my abdomen, his hand protectively cupped around our unborn child.
"Thank you," I whispered, feeling my eyelids grow heavy.
I felt Jacob's lips against my hairline. "Sleep well, love."
I sighed, beginning to close my eyes, feeling safe in Jacob's arms. The last two weeks with Jacob had been amazing, but I was more than happy to be home, in our own bed. And soon, we would have another, little person joining us.
And I couldn't be happier.