EMMETT'S POV

"MAGGIE!" Rose and I yelled.

I turned to look at Liam and Siobhan. Liam was holding Siobhan by the shoulder, and she had her eyes closed with her hands down at her sides.

Her power must allow her to alternate what could happen, but they didn't know a pregnant human was inside the house.

"EMMETT!" Rosalie said, shoving me hard towards the house. "The baby!"

Of course. The baby…not Bella, I thought to myself.

"Baby?" I heard the confusion in both Liam and Siobhan's voices.

I ran towards the house as fast as I could. Just before Maggie could jump in through the window, I grabbed her from behind and knocked her down.

We both fell into the house, me on top of her, but even then I was finding it difficult to keep her down. She must be a newborn or close to it. She clawed towards Bella.

I stood up and grabbed Maggie by the ankles.

"STOP IT!" I demanded.

Maggie acted like she hadn't heard me. Leah, now in her human form, was holding Bella. She wore an expression of disgust on her face as she looked at Maggie. Esme was holding on to Bella's hand, and they were moving her back to the bed. What was happening? Had Maggie hurt her?

One of Bella's hands was wrapped around her stomach, and the other gripped Esme's hand so tightly that her knuckles were white. Her body was tense, her face red and beginning to perspire.

Seth, who had phased, was focused on Maggie. His gaze never left her, and I could see his sharp canine teeth as he growled.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" I asked.

"We don't know!" said Esme desperately.

"My baby! My baby!" Bella yelled, her face twisted in pain. She screamed and continued to hold on to her stomach.

"Maggie, I need to get you out of here," I said.

"Only after I drink every last drop of blood in her body, and the baby's," she said, struggling against me and licking her lips hungrily.

"MAGGIE, I DON'T WANT TO HURT YOU," I warned.

"She smells so appetizing." Maggie closed her eyes and sniffed the air again. "And the infant she carries is like the topping on the cake. Together their smells are irresistible, and I won't leave until I taste them both."

She tried pushing me off again.

"Maggie!" Liam came in through the doors followed by Siobhan and Rosalie.

Both Liam and Siobhan shifted their gaze from us to the big wolf in the room, then looked at the three women by the bed.

"What is going on?" Siobhan asked.

"Get her out of here, please. I'll explain everything," I said. Siobhan signaled for her husband to take Maggie away.

As I stood up to give Liam space to grab Maggie, she pulled away and darted towards Bella. But before she could get far, Liam grabbed her and took her out the house. She screamed for the "human" all the way outside.

I kneeled next to Bella and rested my hand on her swollen abdomen. I could feel strong movements coming from inside.

"Is this what Carlisle invited us here to see? What is going on?" Siobhan demanded.

"Esme," I said, "could you take our new friend to another room and explain everything to her?"

Esme nodded, but I could see the uncertainty in her eyes. I knew we were thinking the same thing: we needed all the help we could get, but would we be able to convince the Irish coven?

Leah suddenly clapped her hand to her mouth.

"I really can't take the smell anymore! I'm sorry, Seth, but they smell worse then the Cullens!" She ran out through the door.

Seth's eyes followed his sister, then switched back to Bella. He gave a small whine.

"We'll protect her. Go after Leah," I said to him, and he immediately sprinted away.

"AH!" screamed Bella. I turned just to see her eyes roll back and close.

She had fainted.

Her heart still beat steadily, and I could hear another,fainter rhythm beating way too fast. Bella had fainted from the intensity of the pain, but I knew she would recover. I was worried about my baby, especially considering its heart rate. For the first time since he'd left, I wished with all my being that Carlisle was here.

"Bella," I said gently. I shook her softly and blew on her face. Maybe if I touched her with my cold skin she would wake up.

I raised her shirt to expose her stomach and was startled when I saw Bella's stomach moving. I watched closer and realized that I could actually see where the baby was punching or kicking. I lowered my hand onto Bella's exposed skin, but there was no effect.

"The baby isn't calming down," I said, alarmed.

"Try talking to it," suggested Rosalie. She'd been standing still, and I'd forgotten she was here after all the chaos of the last few minutes. I looked up at her for a moment. Then…it just might work, I thought.

I put my head to Bella's torso and kissed the bruises, which had become all too visible. I was quiet for a second as I thought of what to say, but the baby was still kicking.

"Hi, baby," I said awkwardly. The baby continued to hit Bella. "Can you hear me?"

Rosalie shifted her weight to her other foot, more out of human habit than necessity.

"We know you're scared right now, baby, but I want you to know I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You know why? Because I love you. And your mommy loves you, too. You might not mean to, but you're hurting Mommy; she's not as strong as you seem to be, okay? Can you be more gentle with her? She's hurting badly, and we just need you to wait a little longer." I massaged Bella's stomach all the while, making sure to be more careful where the bruises were darker.

The thumping inside Bella's stomach began to slow.
I looked up to Rosalie and smiled.

"It heard me," I said. "Great idea, Rose."

Rosalie smiled faintly and looked away, but I could tell she was upset.

"Thank you, baby," I murmured to Bella's stomach, kissing it again. I brought Bella's shirt back down and covered her with the blanket. I walked to the open doors that led outside and made sure to lock them.

EMMETT'S POV CONTINUED

"Please let me explain," I said, walking after Siobhan.
She shook her head, her hair swaying side to side.

"No. No, I will not hear anymore of these…these lies," she said, rushing to the door.

"I assure you, Siobhan, none of this is a lie," Esme said.

Siobhan was almost out of the door. I knew this was our last chance to persuade the Irish coven, so I ran ahead of her and slammed the door shut just as she turned the knob.

"Tell Carlisle we will not be taken for fools!" Siobhan said coldly.

"Please, let me explain," I begged.

"This is what we traveled so far for? This nonsense?"

"Yes, you have, and if you would just give me a chance to explain you would see that we are not wasting your time."

She looked at Esme, Rosalie, and then me in astonishment.

"You expect me to believe that the human is pregnant with your child? Of course you're lying. It is just not physically possible."

Rosalie's teeth were grinding together at the mention of the last part.

"I know, Siobhan, I know. It's hard to believe; we almost didn't believe it ourselves. But it's true," Esme insisted.

"I could crush her with the touch of a finger. You slept with her! You want me to believe you had intercourse with a human, and she lived?" she said incredulously.

Rosalie's teeth-grinding became louder. Siobhan must have noticed as well because she gave Rosalie an annoyed look.

"Well…yes." I crossed my arms, ignoring Rosalie and redirecting Siobhan's attention back to me.

"Rubbish!" she exclaimed "You are lucky that I do not report you to the Volturi!"

"Siobhan, please! We need your help," I said.

"Help with what, exactly?" she asked, mimicking my folded arms. But before I could answer, Rosalie spoke.

"Alright, let me sum it up for you. The human, Bella, was initially our brother Edward's girlfriend. Emmett, who happens to be my husband, by the way, decided to sleep with Bella, the human. Edward left, and our other siblings, Jasper and Alice, also married, followed him. Bella has a wolf friend who is in love with her and fought for her against Edward, but Bella chose Edward in the end. Well, Jacob found out that Emmett, that's right, my husband, knocked up the human, so now he's pretty much gathering his entire pack to kill us. Basically, we're outnumbered. Am I forgetting somthing? I think that pretty much fucking sums it all up, now doesn't it, sweetie?" Rosalie finished, smiling at me sarcastically.

I slapped my forehead and shook my head. She had just ruined everything, even if she'd said the truth.

"What? Brothers and sisters married? A pregnant human, wolf friends? Your vegetarian ways are already abnormal, but all of this is just…" Siobhan shook her head. "I will not, cannot, bring my family into this mess."

"Ummm, hello. Your so called 'family' just tried to kill the human carrying an innocent unborn baby like two seconds ago. That's not a mess?" Rosalie said, rolling her eyes. Siobhan shot her a look.

"We're not actually related," I said to Siobhan, chuckling nervously. It was a last feeble attempt to save our chances. It wasn't much, but I didn't know what else to say.

Siobhan shook her head and waved her hand. "No. It isn't our problem. Please give Carlisle our apologies that we cannot pay back his favor at this time. Good-bye!"

She walked around me and slammed the door. I turned to glare at Rosalie.

"Oh, Rose," sighed Esme.

"ROSE! WHAT THE HELL!" I yelled.

She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "What? I told the truth. I told her what YOU did. Had you NOT done those things, we wouldn't have a problem," she said, flashing me a smug smile.

She twirled around and gave one of the most spoiled giggles I'd ever heard.

"I hope you know we're all dead now."

She tip-toed to me like a ballerina and swayed her hands side to side.

"Oh, what's wrong? Is little Emmett scared of the big… bad…WOLF?" She snapped her teeth together and bit the air.

My hand was itching to slap Rosalie across the room, and it took a lot of self-control to keep myself from doing just that. It was something I never thought I'd want to do no matter how badly we fought.

"Rosalie…they are going to kill Bella and the baby." There had to be a way to make her understand.

"Oh no, don't worry. Nothing will happen to the baby. Cross my heart, hope to die." She broke into mad laughter. "Oh, right, I'm already dead!"

"Rose!" Esme scolded.

"Oh, all right. You know what I mean, though," Rosalie said, this time more serious.

She'd said the baby would remain unharmed and said nothing about Bella. Considering Bella was the one carrying the baby, I figured Rosalie would have to protect her as well…even if it was just for the baby.

I frowned as I looked at Rosalie and thought about what Seth had said earlier. Seriously, how the hell had I put up with her for so long?

She and Esme left the room, and I looked around. Well, that was that. The only thing left to do was wait for Carlisle.

Edward's room was still a mess from our fight. We couldn't have Bella sleeping in this mess. I began the task of making it more comfortable, my thoughts racing with strategies we could use to defend ourselves on our own.

I finished quickly and went downstairs to talk to Esme and Rosalie, who might also have ideas.

I was halfway down the stairs when I heard Bella calling my name.

BELLA'S POV

I awoke and found myself back on the bed in Edward's room.

I looked around and found myself alone. Someone had come in to clean up, and now the only sign that there'd ever been a fight was the absence of Edward's CD collection.

Where was everyone?

"Emmett?"

I tried to sit up, but it seemed much harder and uncomfortable than before. I looked down and saw a much rounder, fuller stomach spotted with bruises.

Pain still burned my stomach, like I'd just done a ton of crunches. I was startled when the door suddenly opened.

"Hey there," said Emmett. His voice alone was comforting. "How are you feeling?"

"What happened?" I asked.

"You don't remember?" Emmett sat down on the bed next to me.

"Well, I do remember the vampire climbing in through the window and leaping towards me," I said, massaging my stomach. "I fell back and my stomach felt like it erupted. I guess it upset the baby. The pain…it was…well, is the baby okay?"

I didn't want him to be more worried than he already was. Emmett nodded. I sighed in relief and lifted up my shirt. I touched the bruises that covered my stomach.

"Pretty soon, my whole belly will be one, huge, purple mass. The baby really seems to like beating me up," I joked.

"Don't worry, we had a little conversation." I looked at him in confusion, and he just smiled. "Are you hungry?"

"No." I thought about it for a second. "But I really have to pee."

He chuckled, stood up, and cradled me in his arms. As he carried me to the bathroom, he breathed into my ear.

"I'm so relieved that you're awake. I was so scared, Bella. I thought I might lose you two." He kissed my cheek.

I wasn't sure if he meant "two," as in the baby and myself, or "too" as in myself and Hannah.

"But I wouldn't have really died, Emmett. You would have saved me," I said to him.

We had already reached the bathroom, but he didn't set me down. I looked over at the mirror in front of us and admired Emmett. He was truly an extraordinary thing to look at. He was perfect in every single way.

And then there was me. I looked so tiny in his arms,my stomach protruding from my small frame unnaturally. I looked sick, weak, and exhausted in contrast to Emmett.

"Bella, please…please never change."

I knew he was talking about converting. It unnerved me how much he was like Edward. Sure, they were brothers, but I thought Emmett would be happy to have me by his side as an equal.

"You know the time will come sooner or later. Emmett, for all we know, I might not even survive the birth."

These were thoughts that had been crossing my mind lately. I already knew the baby wasn't normal; it was strong, like him, and growing rapidly. I was still human.

"Bella, please don't say that," he said softly, nestling his face into my neck. "I can't go through it again."

He was talking about Hannah this time for sure. He still hadn't put me down.

"Em."

He shook his head. "No."

"No, Em, I really…I really have to pee."

"Oh." He smiled faintly and put me down softly,closing the door behind himself only after he made sure I was safely seated on the toilet.

I finished quickly and opened the door to find Emmett sitting on the floor, his knees drawn in close to his chest. He looked up at me and smiled sadly.

"Better?"

I nodded. "Much, much better. And I think the baby feels better too."

I stared down at him as he looked at his hands, which, for some reason, made me remember the coven.

"What happened to the other vampires? Are they still here?" I asked.

Emmett closed his eyes and shook his head in disappointment.

"None of it went as planned."

"They left?" I asked.

"They left so fast even we couldn't see them. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that they'd left the state already," he said miserably.

"Who were they?" I asked.

"Carlisle's friends. One of the Irish covens. He sent them here to help us."

"Help? Help us what?" I asked, frowning.

"Bells…I think you should sit down for this." He stood up, took me into his arms again, and brought me back to Edward's room. He set me down gently on the bed and tucked me in before sitting next to me.

"We need help for…what's to come."

"You mean delivering the baby?" I asked.

"No…Bella, I won't let anything happen to you or the baby, NOTHING."

"I know," I said, grabbing his hand.

"And that's why I'm…we're willing to do whatever it takes to make sure you two are safe."

"Okay...?"

"Even if it means we have to die or kill those mutts from La Push."

I pulled my hand away from him.

"…What?"

"Bells, they're coming. And they want our baby."

JACOB'S POV

"EDWARD! ANSWER ME, YOU THICKHEADED BLOODSUCKER!" I yelled, kicking a rock in front of me.

I paced back and forth along the territory line. It was so tempting to cross alone, to go see Bella and try to persuade her myself. But I knew I couldn't be that stupid.

I'd had a short conversation with Edward, but he had stopped responding.

"Fine. If you don't kill him, I will. And then…then I'm coming for you."

I stretched my hands to the floor and phased before my paws hit the ground. I howled loudly.

I could feel the connection between the pack as they too phased. It didn't take long for them to appear at my side.

"It's time," I announced.

"Finally,"said Jared.

"What about Leah and Seth?" Paul asked.

"They've made their choices. We will soon know whether or not they have chosen correctly!" I barked at them.

"Jake, maybe you should stay," Sam said to me.

"Yeah, right," I scoffed. "You're insane if you think I'm going to miss this."

"Jake, you cannot stop whatever happens…do you understand?" Sam said. It wasn't a question, more like a command. I gave a low growl.

"A line will be crossed. Whatever needs to be done to destroy that thing will be done. Even if it means destroying Bella. You won't be able to take it back," Sam said.

"You can't hurt Bella. You love her." came a voice from outside the pack.

Edward. I knew the others didn't hear him, and it surprised me that he was still able to communicate with me as a wolf.

"It's different now. What needs to be done needs to be done." I said, not caring if my thoughts had gone to Edward or the pack.