**A/N: All characters are © Stephenie Meyer.

Chapter 8

"You Want Me To Do What?"

It had taken Jacob just under five minutes to run the fifteen mile distance between La Push and the Cullen's home in the plush green forest of Forks. Renesmee – still unconscious – was now a very pale shade of blue. In one swift motion, Jacob phased back into human form and dropped Renesmee from his teeth into his outstretched arms and sprinted up the steps leading into the house three at a time.

He didn't bother with the doorknob, kicking the door completely off its frame while bolting into the house.

"CARLISLE!"

Jacob could only manage to screech one word through his panicked tears. Carlisle was at his side in an instant assessing the situation with hundreds of years of medical experience behind his calm demeanor.

"Tell me exactly what happened, Jacob. Don't leave anything out… Renesmee's life depends on it."

Bella and Esme ran into the room still holding the wrapping paper and scissors they had been using to wrap gifts in the other room. Esme stopped short at the sight of Renesmee hanging lifeless and pale in Jacob's arms, throwing her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream. Paralyzed with fear and anxiety, Bella didn't move a muscle as she whispered breathlessly, "Renesmee?"

Edward, reading the frantic thoughts of everyone in the room, rushed to his daughter's side and moved to take her from Jacob's arms. Out of instinct and sheer terror, Jacob growled menacingly and slid into an attack stance, hovering over Renesmee's body protectively, forbidding Edward to come any closer. Taken completely off guard, Edward jumped back, a wounded expression covering his face.

An instant later, Alice and Jasper sprinted into the room with Rosalie and Emmett right behind them. Jacob's body immediately relaxed and the room took on a very calm atmosphere as Jasper worked his magic.

"Jacob, please. You have to tell me what happened so I can help her!"

Carlisle grabbed Jacob by the shoulders and shook him back into focus.

Tears flowed freely down his russet tanned cheeks as he explained.

"One minute she was playing with balloons and eating cookies, and the next, she was gasping for air."

Jacob was near sobbing as he continued.

"She broke out with red spots all over, and then she said she couldn't breathe. A split second later, she lost consciousness. I got here as fast as I could…Oh, God…Carlisle! Please tell me I'm not too late!"

Jacob's voice broke and he hugged Renesmee's tiny listless frame tightly to his gigantic chest as he finally gave in to his panic and broken sobs wracked his entire upper body.

Reading the conclusion in Carlisle's mind, Edward shot up the stairs into Carlisle's study and returned with his medical bag and a plastic bag labeled Forks Medical Center.

As Carlisle took the two bags from Edward, Edward laid his hand on Carlisle's shoulder and looked into his father's eyes with anguish.

"How can you be sure it will work?"

Carlisle clasped his hand around Edward's forearm and replied, "I'm not sure of anything at this point, Edward, but I have to try."

As Carlisle went to work on Renesmee – after guiding a still sobbing Jacob over to the dining room table and motioning for him to lay her down on top of it – Bella suddenly grasped Edward by the shoulders and shrieked – her eyes wild with panic, "If you value my sanity, DO NOT continue your damned private mind reading conversation!"

Edward took Bella by the hands and pulled her into the protective fortress of his granite arms.

"I am so sorry, Love. Carlisle believes that Nessie has had an allergic reaction to either latex or peanuts. It appears to be most likely that she is severely allergic to nuts. Renesmee has eaten over a dozen peanut butter cookies today between here and the party."

Bella shook her head back and forth in disbelief and rushed over to her daughter. Renesmee looked so tiny and fragile lying on top of the over-sized dining room table.

"But she has eaten peanut butter cookies before. Why the adverse reaction today?"

Bella picked up Renesmee's right hand and held it in her own. She would have held them both, but Jacob, sitting atop the table- still completely naked – cradling Renesmee's head in his lap, had not let go of her left hand since laying her on the table.

"She's never eaten quite so many in such a short time span."

Edward spoke from across the room.

"Nessie's immune system is much stronger than that of a normal human child, but today it was overwhelmed…it couldn't recover fast enough to protect her."

Edward joined Bella at the dining room table, rubbing up and down the length of both her arms in an effort to sooth her.

Carlisle stopped and looked at Bella and Edward with wary eyes.

"Renesmee has gone into anaphylactic shock. Her throat has swollen and has closed off her airway. I have to administer epinephrine immediately to bring her airway back to normal and allow her to breathe freely again."

"Do you have an oral form of epinephrine?" Bella asked skeptically.

Edward rubbed Bella's neck and shoulders gently while shooting an expectant glance over her head at Jasper before replying in a lull as if talking to an injured animal, "Nessie needs an IV, Love. An oral dose would metabolize too quickly in her liver and be ineffective."

Bella broke free of Edward's hold on her and twisted to look Carlisle in the face.

"Her skin is as impenetrable as ours! How are you…NO! Our venom will kill her!"

"Our teeth are not the only teeth capable of tearing vampire skin, Bella."

As Edward spoke the words, eight pair of amber eyes turned all at once to stare at the naked Quileute werewolf sitting on top of their dining room table rocking back and forth in agony.

Jacob stopped and met the family's gaze shaking his head vehemently back and forth.

"No! No…no! I can't BITE her!!"

Carlisle grabbed Jacob by the shoulders and shook him with such force it rattled the table.

"You have to, Jacob! She will die if we don't intervene immediately!"

Bella took her hand and placed it on top of Jacob's.

"Jacob, you have to phase…now! I… can't… lose… her!"

Bella was overcome with grief as tearless sobs shook her entire body and she buried her face into Edward's chest.

Without a word, Jacob jumped from the table and sprinted through the sliding glass doors leading out to the deck at the back of the house. In an instant, the large russet wolf walked gracefully back into the Cullen's dining room and nudged Renesmee gently with his nose.

"Here, Jacob…As close to the vein as possible."

Carlisle pointed to a spot on Renesmee's inner thigh.

"Not too deep. She could bleed out before I set the IV."

Every vampire in the room held their breath as the mammoth brown wolf loomed over the tiny half-vampire and bit into the fleshiest part of her inner thigh. Bright red blood oozed from the wound as Jacob's razor sharp teeth pulled back a thin layer of skin, creating a loud screeching noise like metal scrubbing metal and exposing the vein just underneath.

As Carlisle began to insert the IV into her vein, Renesmee started to convulse violently. Edward and Bella moved swiftly in unison to hold her down while Jacob, whimpering pitifully, phased back to human form and backed away from the table to huddle in the corner curled up in the fetal position – still whimpering and still naked.

While all other eyes remained focused on Renesmee's quaking body, Rosalie slipped quietly over to the sofa and removed the olive green cashmere throw draped casually across the back. She then proceeded directly over to Jacob – cowered in the corner sobbing – and compassionately placed the blanket around his shoulders.

Within minutes of receiving the epinephrine through the IV, Renesmee's color returned to normal and she began to stir.

With wide questioning eyes, she looked first at Bella, then at Edward, before resting her gaze on the IV tubing running from her thigh up to the clear plastic bag in Carlisle's hand.

Renesmee reached up and laid her hand on Bella's cheek gingerly. A shutter ran through Bella's body as Renesmee replayed every horrifying moment of the afternoon.

"I'm okay, Mama. Don't be sad. I won't eat anymore peanut butter cookies. I'll stick to mac and cheese from now on, I promise."

Tentative chuckles resonated throughout the room. As usual, Renesmee's cognitive understanding of what had taken place was well beyond her year's body age.

Edward kissed his daughter on the cheek and held her tiny chin in his hand to make her look into his eyes before playfully admonishing,

"You are never to frighten us in this way again, young lady. My heart is only just now beating again."

Renesmee grinned at Edward and sat up, placing her hands on her hips. With a sarcastic tone and a wrinkle of her nose, she stated, "Daddy…you're heart doesn't beat. You're a vampire."

The chuckles in the room were much healthier this time around.

Carlisle placed his finger on Renesmee's cheek and stroked it slowly.

"Her color is completely back to normal. Just look at those beautiful rosy cheeks! Renesmee, I need you to hold very still for Granddad. I have to remove the IV because your skin is already beginning to heal. We don't want that needle imbedded as the wound closes."

Renesmee looked around the room gazing into each loving face, searching for the one face that would make all the pain go away. As her eyes came to rest upon the tortured lump in the corner of the room that was Jacob Black, her chin began to quiver and tears spilled over from her large brown eyes to stream down her blushing cheeks.

"Jacob?" Renesmee whispered hesitantly before looking up at Edward with a panic stricken expression. "I want MY Jacob."

Edward made it over to Jacob's huddled mass in one step. He grabbed him at the elbow and heaved him up from the floor, looking up into his face sternly.

"Pull it together, Jacob! Renesmee needs you! She is asking for you. Where is that fierce wolf that wouldn't let me touch her a few minutes ago?"

Jacob looked down at Edward, begging for forgiveness with his eyes and his thoughts.

Edward grasped him by the shoulders and shook him once…hard.

"There is nothing to forgive, Brother. You saved my daughter's life.

Now, go to her and be who she needs you to be right now."

Jacob looked over at Renesmee sitting on top of the table… wet tears stained her cheeks and her lips poked out in the cutest little pout. Finally, he allowed himself to believe that she was really going to be all right. His future…her future…they were so intertwined that the thought of living without her had nearly made him lose his mind.

But Edward was right. All she knew right now was that taking that needle out of her thigh was going to hurt, and she wanted her Jacob to make her feel better. The Jake that played with her, pushed her in the swing, and gave her piggy back rides…NOT the whimpering weak mass that had been huddled in the corner out of fear. Never would he be that Jacob again. Her strength would be his strength.

Jacob strode purposefully over to Renesmee and wiped her tears with the corner of the cashmere throw Rosalie had draped over him earlier. Then, he kissed her on the top of the head and held her tiny hand in his great big one.

"I'm here, Nessie. It'll be okay. If it hurts, just squeeze my hand."

Renesmee smiled sweetly up at Jacob before looking around bravely at Carlisle who was already holding the offending needle between his thumb and index finger, a crisp white bandage replacing the barely open wound on Renesmee's inner thigh.

"All done!" Carlisle said with a tweek of Renesmee's nose.

Renesmee stood up quickly on the table and wrapped her arms exuberantly around Jacob's neck, knocking the blanket from his shoulders and causing it to fall around his ankles, exposing yet again his totally naked body.

Rosalie sighed loudly and darted up the stairs returning with a neatly folded pair of jeans and a crisp white t-shirt. Holding the clothes out for Jacob at arm's length, Rosalie drawled, "I think we've seen about enough of you in the buff today, dog. Go put some clothes on, will you?"

Jacob grinned wickedly and winked at Rosalie. "Hey, Blondie. Did you hear the one about the…"

All eight vampires rolled their ocher eyes and chimed, "Go, Jacob!"

As Jacob sprinted out the back door with the clothes in hand, Renesmee's tinkling laughter could be heard above all the others' chuckles…a sound Jacob was positive would put anything Heaven had to offer to shame.