Chapter 8: Just how it Is

~Bella~

It seemed like Charlie and I were more or less in the same boat. Neither one of us could do much for ourselves and at least for him, I knew being so dependent was driving him crazy. Even now as I lay resting on the sofa with my legs propped up watching TV with him, I could hear Charlie grumbling. During the day, I stayed with him because when he was alone he tried to get up and do things on his own. Carlisle discouraged it, but Charlie was prepared to do all of his usual activities, and it didn't take much to tire him out. While we were stuck in the den, I heard a noise in the kitchen and knew Sue was likely doing some cleaning. I'd been surprised to see her this morning when Edward brought me downstairs. After what Jacob said about Leah, I would have figured Sue would have stayed away at least until the rest of us left, and I wasn't planning on that until Charlie was much better.

"So tell me again why you want to keep all of this quiet for now," Charlie asked as he finally got tired of grumbling. He glanced over at me and I sighed. We'd told him that this pregnancy was high risk to me and the baby, and because of that we didn't want other people around town knowing, people like Deputy Mark and his wife, or Jessica and Mike.

I'd almost slipped up and told Angela on our last phone call, but managed to cover myself. "I just don't want to have to go through all of this, getting everyone excited, and then something happen to me or the baby," I answered as the baby shifted causing me to have to suddenly use the bathroom. For some reason my little bundle of energy liked to lay right on my bladder.

As I heaved myself up, Charlie watched, "Aren't you supposed to have help?"

"I can sit up on my own," I mumbled knowing he was getting a certain amount of joy that I was just as useless as he was.

Just as I put my legs over the edge of the sofa, Sue came in carrying a glass of water and three bottles containing all of the medication my Dad needed. Alice was behind him with two trays of food. She put them down on the portable stand beside Charlie's chair and looked over at me pretending to notice that I needed her for the first time.

With her help, I got to my feet and once we were on the forth step of the staircase Alice picked me up and carried me the rest of the way. While she waited outside I took care of what I needed to feeling relieved, and wishing at the same time that the baby would move, "Hey in there, find some place else to sleep," I whispered rubbing my hand over my large tummy. I half expected my baby to listen to me, and the little wiggle worm did kick a little, something that didn't hurt, before settling down.

"Back downstairs?" Alice questioned.

"Is Sue talking to him?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll rest in my room. I think they deserve a little private time."

Alice helped me to my room and once I was in my bed, my feet once again propped up on two pillows, I felt much better.

She flitted about my room moving things around while I lay missing my husband. Carlisle had asked Edward to go hunting with him, and I had a feeling they were planning again. They were both trying to prepare for the eventual delivery of the baby, something I dreaded because of how unknown it all was. None of this was like my dream or like any pregnancy any other woman would go through. I'd developed a taste for blood, something I never would have imagined. Even the smell, something that used to make me pass out now was very appealing.

"Alice, I think I need another cup," I said, craving that just now.

Once she was gone I placed my hands around my belly rubbing them over where my baby rested. We had three months left if this all went the normal forty weeks, and I had no idea how to deal with anything after. I knew Rosalie and Esme would guide me, but it was just the unknown. Edward said we just had to take things one day at a time, and I tried, but when he was gone, dwelling on the unknown seemed to be a habit of mine.

Relief flooded through me when the door opened and Edward was there. He handed me my cup and sat on the edge of the bed moving back enough so that he had room to move my feet from the pillows onto his lap. When he began to massage them, I sighed feeling relief momentarily. "I feel useless," I told him once my cup was drained, and was sitting on my bedside table. His hands were working their way up my leg and suddenly I forgot what I'd been about to say. Us doing anything other than kissing was about as far as it went, but his cool hands felt good for some reason.

I moment later he kissed my forehead and when I opened my eyes his were on me, "You feel warm," he said kissing my forehead again.

Puzzled, I looked up at him as he moved away, "I'm supposed to be," I began but he was shaking his head.

"No love, you feel like your running a low grade fever."

Now it made sense to me why his hands felt so good, "What do we do?"

"I need to find a thermometer."

"In the bathroom in the third drawer down," I said grasping his arm before he could leave, suddenly feeling uneasy.

His expression softened and he kissed my lips, "Everything will be alright," he said.

As he got up I nodded, recalling more of my dream and how my body would go from freezing cold to burning up. Was this the start of all of that as well as my baby breaking me apart?

My husband came back before I could get too worked up and was shaking down the thermometer. When he had it ready he slid it under my tongue and we both sat waiting for what seemed like forever before he reached for it and held it up. "99.9," he said aloud before shaking it back down and putting it back in the case.

"What's causing it to go up?"

When he answered me without pausing I was glad and worried all in the same moment. "We won't know until Carlisle can have a look, but it may be something more than the hypertension. There is a condition that develops called Preeclampsia which usually develops earlier than this. It just means we are going to have to be extra careful," he said, something I really didn't want to hear.

Edward took off his shoes before leaning in bed next to me making sure to put the electric blanket Esme had gotten around me before I settled against his left side, "What now?"

"Rest," my husband whispered and I nodded feeling tired.

~Edward~

None of the things Bella had seen in her dreams had come to pass, and yet every other complication with pregnancy was taking place. Carlisle would have to run some tests and if she did have the Preeclampsia, we would have to come up with a game plan. When I studied medicine, it wasn't this field I had focused on so I didn't know if there were treatments other than delivering the baby early. Our little one had three more months to go, but none of us were sure if Bella or the baby would make it to her due date. With Bella asleep, I focused my hearing on our baby's heart beat listening for a few minutes for any differences that would indicate he or she might be in stress, but the sound was the same to me, strong and still healthy.

Once Bella was soundly asleep I slipped out of her bed making sure my wife was covered up before I went downstairs. Sue and Charlie were still talking and Carlisle was in the kitchen writing some things down on the chart he was keeping for Charlie. I joined him at the table and the moment our eyes met he knew something was going on, "Bella has a slight fever," I began.

"How high?"

"99.9. Do you think it could be Preeclampsia. I thought she would have developed it sooner," I began keeping my voice down.

"It can develop at any time, but I thought it would be before now. I'll need to obtain a sample of urine to test that, and draw some blood."

I ran my right hand through my hair grabbing at it, "And if she does have this, what then?"

"We keep monitoring her, but it will mean most likely that we won't be able to wait for three more months."

I nodded, "What about medicine?"

"Generally the only thing to do is keep the patient on bed rest like we have been doing. Normally we would discuss putting her on some sulphate medication, but with the baby I'm not sure that's wise."

"How early can the baby be delivered safely?" I asked.

Carlisle kept his eyes on me, "Anything under thirty six weeks is a risk, but again there is so much we don't know. I need to go on and get the things from the hospital. Try and get her to eat some ice chips."

I nodded, walking my father to the door after he put his coat on. It was raining again. Once he had gone and as I shut the door Sue came out of the den with Charlie's things. She stopped for a second before moving on. If she had something she needed to say it would have to wait. I needed to be with my wife.

Bella got her nap out before Carlisle came back to the house, and I had enough time to fill her in before he arrived with the things he needed. The first part was something she had to do, and I waited out side the bathroom as she filled the cup my father had brought with him. When she came out I took the cup and put my arm around her as we went back to her bed.

The next part wasn't so easy, and Bella hid her face against my chest as Carlisle drew a couple of viles of her blood. Once it was over and she was resting back against the pillows with her feet propped up again, Carlisle had everything gathered up to return to the hospital. "Bella, you need to try and listen to your body. If you feel tired sleep, if you feel thirsty drink something. It's crucial now that you keep hydrated and get plenty of rest. I don't want to see this baby delivering any time soon," Carlisle said in effort to lighten the mood, and my wife did smile.

Once he had gone she put her hands over her face, "This is a mess," she whispered.

After sitting down on the bed I gently moved her hands away and kissed her lips tenderly with my own, "We will figure this out."

"I want to do more Edward. Do you know how selfish I feel having to stay up here when my dad is down there recovering from heart surgery, not being able to do anything for him. I mean I know I wasn't ever around, but this whole thing with him getting shot made me realize that I don't want to lose him and I know I'll have to once you turn me but Edward..."

Bella was getting to worked up and I pressed my lips on hers, "You can't allow yourself to worry about that now. There will be time to tell Charlie what you want to. He's not going anywhere. I can hear his heart beat as clearly as yours and the baby's. He's sleeping right now and if he knew about this he would want you to rest. I won't tell him until you want me too, but Carlisle is right, you need to relax as best you can and not stress. That will do more harm than good."

My wife took a deep breath and let it out. "Will you bring me some water and maybe a book or two?"

"Yes, I love you, Bella," I told her kissing her lips once more before leaving to bring what she needed.

By evening her fever was up and Carlisle had returned with the results confirming that with what he found she did indeed have Preeclampsia. The bad part was that he couldn't give her any medications other than aspirin, but Bella was drinking as much water as she could, and we hoped that things would settle down. She was also focusing on not panicking, and as a result her blood pressure was where it needed to be.

As she rested against my side in her bed, Bella had her hand over mine which was pressed against her stomach. "I thought of a great name for our baby if she is a girl," Bella mumbled.

Tilting my head to my right, I placed a kiss on the crown of hers, "What did you come up with?"

"I think Renesmee would be pretty. I thought about both of our mother's and I think since our baby will be so special, she should have a name that no one else would."

We hadn't discussed baby's names very much but Bella was right, that name was unique and I liked the way it sounded. I had been too afraid to think of names and still was to an extent. If we lost this child I wasn't sure how my wife would cope. Esme had lost her son, and everything else resulting in her jumping off a cliff to end her life, so part of what Bella was telling Charlie held true, but I hoped that being part vampire would give our baby the advantage she or he needed if we did have to push for an early delivery.

With Bella now asleep, I moved my hand against her forehead keeping it there as I eased back the covers and took her arm. I ran my other hand up and down, and she mumbled in her sleep but did not awaken.

The door opened but I kept up what I was doing as Esme came and sat down on the edge of the bed placing a cool class of water on the bedside table. "How are you holding up," Esme thought, and I looked over at her trying to be strong.

"Worried," I whispered, low enough that only my mother could hear me.

She placed a hand against my cheek, "Bella's a strong young woman," she reminded, and I knew that. My wife had been through more than any human should have to endure, and I'd hoped that after we married it would all be easy, but so far that wasn't the case.

"Since she's become pregnant she hasn't been pushing as much to become one of us. I asked Alice if she still saw that, but she can't see anything right now. The baby is blocking her visions. I'm afraid that she won't have much of a choice," I breathed shutting my eyes. There was so much that could go wrong, so much that already seemed to be going that way. If we had to turn Bella, I wasn't sure about her being around the baby until she was under control. That would take a long time.

At some point Esme got up and left and I sighed resuming what I had been doing by rubbing my hand over Bella's arms in effort to bring her fever down, hoping by morning she would be better.

~*~*~

A few days passed by and Bella was resigned to staying in bed. Charlie was improving and she had told him what was going on. My wife agreed that we should head back to Hanover so that if the baby needed to come early among other things her father wouldn't be around if any changes needed to be made. Our flight home was at early evening and Esme had found a private plane with a bed. My family with the exception of Carlisle was flying with us. He was staying behind a few more days making sure that Charlie was in good hands with the new doctor.

After Alice assured me that she had things under control as far as getting things packed up for me and Bella, I joined my wife and Charlie in the den.

My father-in-law was trying to convince Bella to stay here so that if anything happened he could help, and Bella was struggling. I sat down on sofa where her feet were and began rubbing them as I glanced at Charlie, "Charlie, the hospital in Hanover is more equipped to handle things if the baby needs to be delivered earlier."

Her father shut his eyes running his hand through his hair out of frustration. "Then I should come with you." That was a first and I heard my wife's heart rate jump up. Charlie hadn't been able to visit us because of his job, which he couldn't return to until he was fully recovered.

"I don't think your doctors would agree to you taking a long flight," I said and Charlie grumbled.

"Why do I feel like there is more going on here than you two are letting on?" He asked.

"Charlie, please just stop," Bella said on the verge of tears. "You are letting this get all out of hand. I've told you why we need to go home and if something happens we will let you know. Right now I just need to go home and try and come to terms with this. Edward and I have things we need to decide as a couple," she forced out.

Her father was instantly remorseful, "Sorry, Bells, I just worry about you, and I don't want to lose you." he whispered, his voice strained. Both of them were getting worked up and I was glad when Sue arrived with lunch for Charlie. I took that opportunity to get Bella to her room and once there I held her as she cried.

"Why does he have to make this so hard?"

Her voice hitched and I stroked my hand over her back, "He doesn't mean to, Bella, he's worried."

My wife took in a shaky breath and let it out, "I know he is. I don't know how we will tell him if I have to be turned," she whispered.

"Let me worry about that okay? I want you to focus on just you for the moment so we can get home." My wife nodded still holding on to me. I leaned us back against the pillows grasping at the electric blanket, pulling it over us as she began to calm down. I reached over her and placed my hand against her Belly feeling the baby moving around which was a good sign. Before long my wife had fallen asleep and as I started to close my eyes I heard someone approaching. The door opened and Sue was there along with Alice helping Charlie walk.

"Tell her I didn't mean to upset her," Charlie whispered. Sue was taking him home with her, where Billy and the others could help him.

"She knows you mean well, Charlie, and I swear to you that I will take good care of both of them."

He nodded and left. We still had a few hours before we had to go, and knowing the rest of my family would take care of the rest I shut my eyes again keeping focus on the two most important people in my life.

~*~*~

AN: Alright here we are with another update. I hope you guys liked it. I know there isn't much action but I didn't want to just start out with them back at home and the action is coming. I want to thank all of you for reading and all of you who reviewed as well. Keep them coming. Mac as usual thanks for the Beta.

More soon

~Ella~