One More Night
Chapter Five
Jacob moved to her and sweetly pulled her into his arms before placing a kiss on her hairline, sighing into her fruity scented hair.
Rachel smiled at the cute reunion as she nudged Paul. They both knew that he needed to apologize for what he had said to the poor pregnant girl because they both knew now he was wrong.
Clearing his throat, Paul spoke, "Bella?" She looked to him with skeptical eyes, gripping Jacob's hand tight in hers.
"Yes?" Her voice was soft like silk.
"Look, i don't do this very much so don't get too used to it." She wasn't sure what he was talking about until he finished. "I'm sorry for what I said. Jacob told me about what was really going on with you getting married and that whole debacle." Bella relaxed and nodded. "I also have something else to say." Bella nodded, waiting to hear what he would tell her. "You didn't have to do that. If those leeches had come, we could have dealt with it on our own." Bella just rolled her eyes.
"Really? So you have experience with killing a thousand year old vampire who has an expertise of killing wolves?" Paul opened his mouth to defend the power of the pack, but Bella shut him up quickly. "Don't even try, Lahote. You have no idea what you are talking about. You have never even came in contact with a vampire as old as these. The older a vampire gets, the harder they are to kill and the more skilled they are. The Volturi have almost thirty vampires, the majority of them over 800 years old with some skill or another. Just one of them was able to easily overpower Edward, even with his mind reading ability." Bella scowled at the cocky wolf before he cowered a little which was something no one had ever seen Paul do. "You would never stand a chance against them, Paul. A lot of them have abilities like Aro can read every single thought that has ever gone through your head with a single touch. Jane can put you in the worst imaginable pain with a single look. Alec can rob you of sight, sound, and touch. Think you could handle that?" She sneered before crossing her arms. "I'm the only person who immune to their gifts, like how Edward can't read my mind." Jacob gently placed his arm around her slender waist before laying a sweet kiss on the top of her head.
"Why is that?" He asked softly. Everyone in the room was curious about all this, including Rachel.
"I think it might have to do with something Alice saw of me being a vampire. She showed the vision to Aro and he just looked at me like it had shocked him. He said I was going to be an 'intriguing immortal' and that I would have a rare, defensive gift called a shield. It was never explained what that was." Bella looked to Rachel and saw the aghast expression on her childhood friend's face.
"He said you are a shield? Are you sure?" She asked in disbelief as Bella's eyes narrowed.
"Yeah? Why?" Jacob looked at his sister in bewilderment.
"What is it, Rach?" She gulped before rubbing her hands together.
"I've heard of being a shield before. It is a defensive talent. It's where you have this kind of force field around your mind that protects you, but it can also be used to help others by expanding it to surround them." Bella couldn't understand how Rachel could possibly know something like this. If Jacob had known, he would have said something so how did his older sister know?
"How do you know about this?" Jacob asked and Rachel took a deep breath.
"After Nahni passed, I was helping Mom clean out her house and I found these journals. They belonged to Quil II from his time as a wolf." Bella listened carefully as Jacob held her to him, unsure of what his sister was about to reveal. "He wrote about Ephraim's older sister who was bitten the day Ephraim phased for the first time. Since he was Alpha, he sent out the order that she couldn't be touched even though she was a vampire. She didn't want to hurt anyone so she hid out deep in the woods to keep from hurting anyone.
"One day, she emerged from the woods and told her brother that she had found an alternative to survive than drinking human blood. She had starved herself so much that, without thinking, she killed a deer and drank from it. Though it didn't take away all of her thirst, it made it bearable.
"After a few years, when she had control over her thirst, she helped the pack keep the village safe from other vampires. Since the wolves needed sleep, she would take the night shift to help any way she could.
"They came across this vampire with dark skin who was trying to hunt in the village. She had this gift that gave her power over someone's sight. This vampire blinded Ephraim temporarily with her gift and was going to kill him." Bella gasped from the story Rachel told.
"With how protective she was of her little brother, it awoke the gift she had and she spread her shield around him and she pushed the vampire away from him. Her gift of being a shield saved Ephraim's life. If she hadn't done what she did, Jacob and I wouldn't be here today. We wouldn't ever have existed." Bella shivered from this thought. She couldn't imagine a world where Jacob didn't exist.
"What happened to her?" Bella asked, unsure if she would like the answer she heard.
"I'm not sure. Once the wolves passed on, she moved on. She told Quil II before he died that she would try to convince other vampires to change to the diet she had, the 'vegetarian lifestyle' she called it." Bella nodded with a sigh.
"What was this girl's name?" She asked softly and, with a sharp intake of breath, she said the name of their ancestor.
"Her name was Carmen, Carmen Black." Bella gasped before her hand landed over her heart.
"Carmen? Carmen is Ephraim's sister?" All three looked to Bella in confusion.
"Do you know her or something?" Bella nodded nervously.
"A vegetarian vampire named Carmen? Yeah, I highly doubt there are two. She's the leader of the Denali coven. She's was at the wedding with her mate, Eleazar, and their family. They consider themselves the Cullen's cousins since they are the only two covens of vampires that don't drink human blood. Now that I think about it, this makes so much sense now." Filled with confusion, Jacob, Rachel, and Paul tilted their heads. Bella instantly got what their issue was.
"Irina, one of her coven, had a big problem with the pack and Edward told me that Carmen told her that if she harmed any of you that Carmen would hunt her down herself. It was something completely out of character for Carmen which is why Edward was worried about the little tiff the women had over it." Jacob's eyebrows furrowed with a puzzled expression.
"What issue?" Bella took a deep breath before looking up at her beau.
"The pack killed her mate who had recently come off drinking human blood. That vampire in the meadow? Laurent?" Jacob nodded in response. "He was Irina's mate and she wanted blood. No one could get her to see reason except me. She doesn't feel that way anymore, but the fact that Carmen is Quileute makes so much sense for that." Jacob nodded while he kissed the top of her head.
Suddenly, her phone started ringing in her pocket and she pulled away from Jake before she pulled the damned, loud electronic out before she looked at who it was.
"It's Alice. I can't answer, Jake." She looked to him panicked and both of them worried that, by some miracle, Alice could see through the wolves that Bella was alive. She still hadn't gotten a confirmation call from Edward, clearing her of any Volturi related danger. Her heart raced out of her chest as the call went to her voicemail and suddenly, they heard an engine of a car coming up the driveway.
"Who is that?" Bella worried that Alice or one of the Cullen's came into the reservation, but Paul got rid of that fear.
"Billy and Charlie are back early." Bella relaxed before she looked at her stomach, noticing that her bump was concealed perfectly from any view.
She would hate to give Charlie a heart attack.
Soon, the door opened and Bella quickly pushed Jacob's hand off her stomach, lacing her fingers with his, before he gave her a sheepish grin. A gasp filled the air as both men saw Bella standing by Jacob, a shy smile on her face.
"Hi, Dad." Bella said before she looked to Billy with a similar gaze. "Hey, Billy." Charlie instantly ran over to his daughter and swept her up in his arms, a much different greeting than she had ever received from him. "Oh!" She hugged him with a snicker at how heartfelt this hello was.
"Bells, what are you doing here?" He pulled back as she bit her lip.
"The honeymoon is over so I'm here hanging out with Jacob and Rachel." Bella tried to sound casual, but it came out rushed from her nerves. She was worried about how Jacob and her would tell their fathers about the baby in her womb that would forever fuse the Blacks and the Swans as family.
Charlie wasn't buying it at all and Billy was confused on why she was still human.
"What's going on?" Bella was going to deny that anything was going on, but Charlie gave her his cop eyes that said he knew she was hiding something. "I'm the Chief of Police. I can tell when something is amiss." Bella took a deep breath before Jake took her hand. Rachel and Paul stood before letting out a sigh.
"Well, we are going to head out. Good luck." Paul ran out with Rachel and Jacob growled quietly in response.
Thanks a lot, you ass. Jacob thought nervously as Bella gulped.
"Maybe you should sit down, Dad." Charlie strolled over to the couch and Billy joined him, stopping his wheelchair next to the broken in sofa.
"What's going on, Jacob?" Billy asked with an authoritative voice and Bella squeezed his hand before she spoke with a shaky voice.
"Well, we have a few pieces of news." Bella looked to both men before taking a deep breath. "Edward and I are getting a divorce, first off." She started with the news that was easiest to swallow and Charlie let out a sigh of relief. It still amazed Bella how much distaste Charlie had towards Edward.
"Well, that was unexpected." Charlie mumbled under his breath while wiping his hand across his face, tiredly.
Billy was expecting this part though. He also knew something else was on their mind.
"What else is there?" He asked suspiciously while Jacob rubbed his thumb across Bella's pointer, her relaxing instantaneously.
"I know this will probably come as a surprise, given the recent events. Marrying Edward was a big mistake and I wish I could take back putting everyone through that, but the past can't be undone. What I'm about to tell you may be upsetting. Actually, in your positions, it will be upsetting, but Jake and myself have both come to terms with this new added...stress." She wasn't sure what word to use to describe her pregnancy without giving away what it was. "Before you ask, this has nothing to do with Edward. Just me and Jacob." Charlie groaned in protest as Billy nervously patted his knees, looking between his friend and their children.
"Just tell us what is going on!" He threw his hands up in exasperation as Bella took a deep breath before she looked to Jacob, earning her a sweet, encouraging smirk.
"Tell them, Bells." His voice was low and soft. She nodded in response.
"What we need to tell both of you is that…" She looked to their fathers before biting her lip and placing her hand on her baby bump through her dress. "I'm pregnant and Jacob is the father of my baby." There was a loud gasp that rang through the room as Jacob placed his hand over hers, rubbing her soft fingers.
Then, came the loud bellow.
"Jacob!" Billy rumbled out his son's name which caused the young couple to look at Billy, seeing his angry scowl. "Outside right now! I need to have a talk with you!" They had never seen Billy so angry, ever.
Jake quickly obeyed and removed himself from Bella, walking outside with his father.
Bella looked to Charlie to see disappointed eyes.
"Bells, come here." She nodded and walked over to him, taking a seat next to him. He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees, as she hugged her stomach. "Are you sure?" She nodded as he looked at her.
"Yeah. I'm pregnant, Dad." He shook his head.
"That's not what I meant. Are you sure Jake is the father? You've been with Edward for a long time." She groaned before pulling her hair back in frustration.
"I never had sex with Edward. Jake is the only one I've done that with so, unless my baby was conceived through immaculate conception, Jacob is the father of my baby." Charlie nodded with a sad smirk.
"I'm not happy about this, Bella. You aren't even out of your teenage years and your pregnant." She nodded with frown before he rubbed her back comfortingly. "Though, given the circumstances…" She caught Charlie looking out the window at Jacob who had a blank expression on his face while Billy screamed at him for his stupidity before Charlie chuckled. "To be honest, if I had to hand pick the father of my grandchildren, there is no one else I would think would be perfect for the job other than Jacob." Bella smirked to herself before she blushed.
"Thanks, Dad. I want you to know that Jake and I… We weren't just being two hormone driven teenagers. I love him and he loves me. That's why I'm getting divorced." Charlie nodded before he hugged his daughter.
"I missed you, Bells." She grinned happily before pulled him tighter in her embrace.
"I missed you, too, Dad." He lighthearted chuckled while he rubbed her back softly.
"I'm glad you made the right decision for you." She smiled at her father as Jacob walked through the door. When he looked to Bella, he paled and she knew, instantly , something was very wrong.
"Jake, are you okay? You look like you saw a ghost." Charlie teased, but no one was laughing.
"Bells, we need to head out. Sorry to cut this short, Charlie." The poor boy couldn't even look at his girlfriend or her father.
"It's okay, Jacob." Charlie turned to his daughter and hugged her affectionately. "I'll see you later, Bells." She nodded before she stood up and followed Jacob out the door. He didn't grab her hand or even look at her before they got in his car.
"Jake, what's going on? Where are we going?" She asked panicked before he, with shaking palms, put the key in the ignition.
"We are going to the Cullen house." She gasped and shook her head.
"No! We can't until we get a call from Edward!" Jacob growled as he quickly sped out of the garage, spinning out before speeding down the road, Bella shrieking in surprise.
He was driving like Edward did before she found out about him in Port Angeles.
"I already talked to them. They are back and everything is fine with the Volturi. They bought it." Bella nodded before groaning.
"What is going on, Jake? You're scaring me." His tires screeched as he jumped on the highway, slamming his fist against the steering wheel as gently as he could with how emotional he was from his talk with his father.
"I'm not going to worry you anymore until it's necessary. I need Carlisle to confirm this." Tears filled his eyes as he grinned his teeth. "I'm so sorry, Bells. Usually, it's Cullen who put you in danger, but this time, it's me. It's my fault this is happening." She was going to ask what he meant, but he raced into the Cullen driveway.
Alice instantly ran out of the house and raced to Bella's side of the car as the human girl climbed out. Alice hugged her friend with a relieved sigh.
"Thank God, you're okay! I don't know what we would have done if we lost you, Bella." She giggled in response to Alice's statement.
"I'm okay. What's going on?" Alice placed her arm around Bella's waist and walked her towards the door.
"Carlisle needs to have a look at you and make sure your baby is healthy." Jacob walked by her, but still didn't look at her or touch her. He followed the two girls into the house where they received sad looks from Esme, Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper. "Him and Edward are in his office, waiting for you and Jacob." Bella nodded as she smirked at the others with a sweet smile, but they ran off quickly. This whole thing was confusing Bella.
They went up the stairs and strolled into Carlisle's office, finding a hospital bed set up in place of his desk. Carlisle and Edward leaned against the bookshelves while Edward had a displeasing expression. Carlisle gave Bella a kind smile as she walked in.
"Bella. Jacob." Carlisle greeted kindly as Jacob nodded with a frown and Bella smiled.
"Hi, Carlisle. Can someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" She asked exasperated and Carlisle chuckled.
"We will, Bella, but first, I need to check you over. You know, for your child's sake." Bella sighed and nodded before she sat on the hospital bed. Carlisle grabbed his stethoscope as Bella looked to Jacob who stood in the corner, staring at his feet. She sighed as Carlisle grabbed her wrist checking her pulse. Next, he placed his stethoscope to her back, asking her to breath for him. She took deep, large breaths before exhaling then Carlisle placed a small cuff on Bella's wrist that she realized was a small blood pressure machine. He pressed the start button and had her place her hand over her heart.
"Will you please tell me what this is about? Even Jake won't tell me anything." Edward huffed before she looked to him with confusion in his eyes.
"Probably because of his guilt." Jacob growled towards Edward, but it was true. He felt terribly guilty for all this happening. Though it hadn't been confirmed yet, he knew Billy was right about Bella's pregnancy.
"Will someone please explain this to me now? I think I have a right to know why everyone is so freaked out. Everyone is looking at me like they are about ready to grieve my death so please, tell me what is going on!" She begged the three men in the room before Carlisle sighed.
"Bella, we will, but I need confirmation that we aren't just jumping to conclusions. I need to take your temperature and do an ultrasound of your stomach." When he mentioned her getting to see her baby, she quieted down. She couldn't wait to see her baby.
Quickly, Carlisle took her temperature and then started her ultrasound. The screen lit up as he held the wand to her lower abdomen. She watched closely, but was amazed when she saw nothing on the screen.
"What the heck? Where is my baby?" She asked and Carlisle sighed before turning off the monitor, putting back the wand.
Just as I suspected… Carlisle thought, but Edward replied in panic.
"Are you sure, Carlisle? Maybe there is another reason." Carlisle shook his head before Bella sat up, pushing back down her dress.
"Shut it, Edward." Carlisle was growing irritated before he looked to Bella with a sad frown. "You're child is in there, but there are some things you need to understand, Bella." She listened closely as Jacob gulped.
"So, it's true?" He finally spoke with such a broken voice before Bella looked at him.
"Just tell me already what has everyone so freak out? What is it that everyone knows except for me?" She pleaded with Carlisle before he took a deep breath.
"Bella, I need you to listen to me very carefully, okay?" She nodded in response. "Your child's placenta is too thick to see through, your resting pulse is 120, and your temperature is currently 100.1." Bella took a deep breath and listened closely. "Bella, you are already showing only eighteen days after conception and, from what I've been told, you feel it very strongly when that child moves." Bella nodded before she took a deep breath.
"Is there something wrong with my baby?" She asked and Carlisle shook his head.
"Not that we can see, but you need to understand everything about what is happening with your child." She waited, not sure what he could possibly tell her that would be worse than something being wrong with her baby. "Your child has the same gene as Jacob that allows him to phase and this very gene has been activated." Bella gasped in shock before placing her hand on her stomach protectively.
"What? That's not possible. My baby hasn't even been born yet for heavens sakes!" She exclaimed from her anxiety of this news.
"You should know by now nothing is impossible." Edward muttered softly to her before she nodded, taking in a sharp breath.
"Okay, so what does that mean exactly? I know this means my baby isn't human, but beyond that, I'm not sure what that is supposed to mean." Carlisle took Bella's hands in his before looking upon her with a knowledgeable stare.
"Bella, I have seen this happen only a handful of times in my life. It is extremely rare, but also very dangerous." She took another deep breath before she felt a strong kick, a groan leaving her tight lips. Carlisle looked between her eyes and her stomach as the other two men cringed in response. "Bella, since you are human and this child is not, the fetus is not compatible with your body. It's too strong and fast growing." She nodded while listening intently. "Soon, you won't be able to hold down any food or even just water. Your body will start to deteriorate, you will lose a lot of weight, and you will become very malnourished. You will be starving and there will be nothing I can do to help that. I can't slow down the grow rate of your child or dull down it's strength. I'm a doctor, but I can't perform miracles. I've tried in the past and you need to know what you are getting yourself into before you explore your options here because this is your point of no return here." Taking a long, shaky breath, she nodded for him to continue.
"The last woman I saw with a pregnancy like yours didn't live long enough to even know she was expecting because the child kicked her so hard that her heart stopped while she was driving her car in Forks." Bella gasped before pulling her hand back.
"In Forks?" She asked before Edward chuckled.
"Right after we arrived here. Oddly, it was Jacob's mother." The wolf growled as Bella looked over to him, amazed.
"That's why Billy acted that way, isn't it? Because of your mom?" Jacob bowed his head and nodded.
"Yes." He whispered his response quickly before she looked back to Carlisle.
"Bella," Edward whispered her name and she looked to him before he got a hateful look. He looked to her stomach before his lip curled in a snarl. "That thing is going to crush you from the inside out. It will be the most gruesome, painful death you could imagine and that's if you don't go out like Jacob's mother, if you go the way the other woman did. Sarah Black was lucky in comparison to the others. You can't put yourself and everyone else through this, Bella." She couldn't believe the nerve of him. He was actually trying to tell her whether she could or couldn't keep her own baby!
"Well, Edward, you don't have a say in the matter. Whatever my decision is, you will have to accept it." He growled and took a step towards her in anger.
"BECAUSE YOU'VE GIVEN ME NO CHOICE!" He bellowed at her and she flinched before Carlisle moved to Edward, creating a barrier between the two of them to keep Bella safe.
"Calm down, Edward." Carlisle's voice was soothing, but Edward was still emotional so he ran out of the room. "Bella, I'm sorry about him. I will give you two some time to discuss your options." Bella nodded with a grateful smirk as Carlisle left and she looked to Jacob, whose eyes were glued to the floor in front of him.
"That was what you didn't want to tell me?" He nodded before he gulped nervously. "Jake, please, look at me." Her voice was low and soft like silk. Though he was scared to, he looked into her eyes before she stretched her hand out towards him, begging him to come to her. With a shaky breath, he followed her request and took her hand in his before looking deep into her eyes. "Are you mad?" She asked and he huff before taking his hand back, averting his gaze to the floor.
"You think I'm mad?" He groaned as he ran his fingers through his hair, gripping onto his thick strands. "This whole time I actually thought I was the safe choice for you, between me and him, but this proves that I was wrong. I'm so sorry that I did this to you, that I put you in this position. This is all my fault." She saw the emotional tears in his eyes as he looked to her and she sighed sadly.
"Jake, this isn't your fault. It's no one's fault. There is no way you could have known this would happen. I'm not mad at you and I don't blame you or anyone else for this. I love you, Jacob." He looked into her eyes as she made this declaration to him. "I could never regret us being together no matter what happens. That will probably be the one thing in my life that I will never regret." Her words were so sweet, so passionate. He was move by her conviction.
He quickly strolled over to her before wildly kissing her, his arms circling her waist, and she showed him the same intensity through their kisses.
Pressing his forehead to hers, with a shaky breath, he spoke passionately, "I love you, Bells. I love you so much, honey." She pressed an unsteady hand to his cheek before giving him one last sweet kiss.
"No matter what, the night before the wedding, when you came to see me…." She trailed off as he stared into her eyes with his onyx ones, nodding. "That night was the best night of my life." He chuckled quietly before his hand moved around her frame to her abdomen, rubbing her baby bump.
"What do you want to do?" He asked with a sad frown before she took a deep breath.
"Are you going to be mad at me if I make a decision you do not agree with?" He shook his head, pressing his forehead to hers.
"Whatever decision you make, I will stand by that decision." She was surprised though she shouldn't have been. Jacob had never stood against her, even when it meant being with Edward. Even when he hated whatever plan she had, he never tried to stop her or became angry about her decisions.
"Thank you." She gave him another soft kiss before she slid off the hospital bed, placing her hands over her stomach.
When she concentrated, she could feel the soft movements of their child. Little, soft twitches of the babies feet and flexing its little fingers in her stomach. A small smile formed on her face before tears filled her eyes.
She couldn't do what they expected of her. She could never put her life above someone she loved and she already loved her baby.
"This doesn't feel wrong at all, Jake." She looked to him and he smirked as she grabbed his wrist, holding his hand against her stomach. "No matter what Carlisle or Edward says, something is just telling me that none of this was just some freak occurrence. It feels like this baby, us, everything, has happened the exact way it was supposed to for whatever destined outcome that is supposed to happen in the grand scheme. I know that probably sounds crazy, but this feels right." He pressed his forehead to the top of her head before letting out a relaxed breath. "Like our baby is supposed to be here. I can't do what they think I should. I can't get rid of our baby even if my life depends on it. I already love him, Jake." She looked up at him and he nodded.
"Whatever you think is the right thing to do, I will stand by you and support your decision the whole way." She quickly kissed him again as he held her close.
She was having a hard time understanding how he could be so wonderful about the whole situation. She decided that, if she survived this whole ordeal, she would need to thank him properly.