Edward's POV
Bella and I were sitting on the couch together, waiting for my family. I heard their thoughts before they made it back to the house, of course. They were all curious about the upcoming conversation, worried about Bella, and both hopeful and anxious about meeting the baby. Alice and Jasper were curled up on the floor near the boarded-up window, whispering back and forth and trying to give us privacy.
We weren't actually talking—we were just enjoying being together in the quiet privacy—but we also couldn't keep our hands off each other. Whether it was my fingers running through her hair or her hand on my thigh, it didn't matter. So long as we had our hands on one another somehow, we felt connected and calm. I'd never had an experience quite like that. Even when Bella and I were together before, it wasn't the same. I'd felt the need to touch her—although the fear I'd had of hurting her had kept me from touching her nearly as much as I'd have liked—but it wasn't as electric as it was now. Maybe that had to do with her being human then and vampire now. I didn't know. It didn't matter, either. The past was the past, and we were together now. That was all that mattered.
"They're almost back, love," I murmured, brushing a kiss across her temple.
She sighed and snuggled against me more in response.
As the two couples came into the living room, Emmett tried sneaking up on Bella again.
"Emmett, I wouldn't," Alice said, shaking her head. "Touch her and she'll throw you through the boards." She gestured with her head at the spot where the window was supposed to be.
I watched the vision flash through her mind of Esme giving him a scolding and forcing him to do all of the repair work himself.
"Those are the last ones, so that wouldn't be a good thing," she snorted.
"Aww, you spoil all my fun, shorty," Emmett whined, ruffling Bella's hair as he and Rose moved around to the floor across from the couch.
Carlisle sat in the remaining chair near us, while Esme sat on the other side of Bella. It seemed that she couldn't get enough of touching Bella now, either, because she took Bella's free hand in hers and squeezed it once before setting them on her leg.
I'm going to ask Bella some questions, Edward, Carlisle thought. I know some of them may be upsetting, so I'll try to be as gentle as possible.
I nodded once to show him I'd heard and then took Bella's other hand in mine, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Bella, how are you feeling, sweetheart?" he started.
"Physically, or mentally?" Bella asked with a snort.
Carlisle chuckled. "Either. Both."
Everyone's minds were silent as they waited for Bella's answers. From their expressions, they were all concerned and eager to hear from both Bella and Carlisle.
"Physically, I'm good. The thirst is...manageable, I guess, right now. Like, my throat is sore, but I don't feel like I need to race out and grab the first deer I can find," she tried to explain.
At that, both Carlisle and Jasper had almost the same thought. She was much more in control than she should be at this point.
That's odd, Carlisle thought, almost as if to himself. "When did you last hunt?" he asked aloud.
"About five hours ago," Bella answered.
Not enough time to be extraordinarily thirsty, but still, she should be feeling more than a sore throat at this age, he thought.
When he was silent, Bella continued, "Why? Is that bad?" She looked around, her eyes finally landing on mine.
"No, love," I hastened to assure her. "Carlisle just thinks you're doing very well."
She still looked unsure, but her shoulders relaxed slightly and her grip on my hand lessened.
Brace yourself, Edward, Carlisle thought. I don't want to bring up an unpleasant topic, but...
"Now," he said, smiling as gently as he could at Bella, "tell me how you feel inside, sweetheart. Alice said you told her she could inform us of your..." His voice trailed off, his inner thoughts unsure of how to phrase it without harming Bella further.
"Rape? Daughter?" Bella clarified, squeezing both Esme's hand and mine tighter.
He frowned and hummed his acknowledgment. "She also said you don't want apologies, that the past is past—"
Bella nodded.
"—so I won't say that. I will say—and I speak for everyone here—that we're here now and will be with you as long as you want or need us to be, however you need us, all right?"
"Thanks," Bella whispered.
Carlisle's thoughts suddenly became excited as he switched gears.
Edward, Alice and Jasper told me what happened. Bella was able to resist not only the scent of her daughter's blood, but that of Charlie's, as well. Extraordinary, son. We must look into this further. There has to be a reason for that, don't you think?
I growled softly. "She's not an experiment, Carlisle," I hissed protectively, attempting to shield Bella from any further pain.
He shook his head quickly. "I apologize. That's not what I meant."
"What?" Bella asked.
"I'm sorry, Bella. I was just thinking of what else Alice told me, and my thoughts weren't entirely clear on my intentions. Edward was just trying to protect you," he explained, and I felt a flash of guilt for even thinking he'd meant harm. "In your own words, can you tell us about what happened after you met up with Alice and Jasper?"
As Bella told us how the four of them had climbed into the tree near her window and how she hadn't been tempted by the scents of her father or daughter, Carlisle's mind began running through possibilities. I caught snatches of thoughts—about calling Eleazar, the word shield, and something about familial blood—but he was trying hard to keep them to himself. I decided to block him out as best I could, knowing he would explain when he was ready.
"Why is this important?" Bella finally asked, looking at Carlisle and then over to me.
"As a newborn, resisting human blood is the hardest thing to learn—even more so than controlling your strength and speed," I explained, remembering her reactions to those things on our hunt. "It takes most newborn vampires a year before they're remotely ready to be around humans. You're less than a week into this...life, and you were able to do it with not one, but two humans in close proximity."
"What if it was just a one-time thing?" she asked, worry written all over her face.
"So let's take you for a test drive!" Emmett suggested enthusiastically. "Ya know, to see if you can resist them again."
"No!" Bella shook her head emphatically. "I can't do that to Lizzie and Charlie. What if I can't? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I did something to hurt either one of them."
"Come on, Bella!" Emmett said with a laugh. "You really think between the seven of us—not to mention the scraggly mutt Alice said you've been hanging out with—that we'd let anything happen to them? Please!" he huffed, flexing his arm muscles, which made Rose roll her eyes.
Bella giggled and a flash of hopefulness that had been lacking since I'd first seen her rose in her expression. "What do you think?" she asked quietly, looking at me expectantly.
However, as much as I wanted to grant her this wish, I knew I needed to protect her and her daughter...even from Bella herself.
Come on, Eddie, Emmett thought firmly. You know we can protect them. It's the perfect way to see if it was just a one-time fluke or if there's something else going on here.
I ignored Emmett, looking at Alice instead, as a vision—very similar to the one before—flew through her mind, of Bella rocking Lizzie in the chair in her room.
"You're sure?" I asked her, my voice low.
"Nothing's changed," she assured me.
Turning to Bella, I said, "I think it's something you should consider, love," I said, holding my hand up when she opened her mouth to protest. "Emmett's right. Between the eight of us, we wouldn't let anything happen to either Elizabeth or Charlie."
Elizabeth, Esme thought with a quiet gasp. Oh, Edward... After your mother?
I nodded once at her, allowing a brief smile to cross my face, as I waited for Bella to answer.
"Okay," she finally sighed. "As long as you promise to keep them safe from me."
"Of course," I murmured, bringing her into my embrace.
"All right!" Emmett cheered, his sentiments echoing in the thoughts of the others. "When can we do this?"
"Tonight," Alice said firmly. "It's going to be sunny off and on today, and apparently, Carlisle has decided to call Eleazar."
We all looked at Carlisle, who was nodding. "I have some ideas, and I think Eleazar is the perfect person to help us understand what's going on with Bella and the bloodlust." When everyone opened their mouths to speak, he held up a hand. "I don't want to get into it yet—not until Eleazar is here. You'll just have to be patient."
We all sighed, but nodded—even me, because he was hiding his thoughts from me now, and I couldn't get much from them even if I'd tried.
Carlisle stood and took out his phone. "I'm going to go make the call. I'll be back," he said, touching Esme's shoulder as he moved to the back door, which shut behind him as he left the house.