AN ~ shortish chap today, sorry guys, but it stopped here and refused to go any further! How you enjoy it anyway ;)
Chapter Sixty-One: Double or Nothing
Carlisle:
The excitement over our discovery soon waned, but not without leaving our hearts and minds refreshed. Our relative good fortune continued over night as Bella steadily improved and eventually tried to keep down some human food. It didn't work, but that she had the alertness and the capacity to try was a comforting concept. The next day – praise be to God and Jacob Black – we received wonderful news.
"Carlisle, we went halfway to Seattle. There's no sign of the pack. You're good to go."
Edward and Rosalie refused, point blank, to leave Bella's side for so much as a second, especially when the only other protection for her was the world's smallest pack of werewolves. Their stubbornness worried me, but far more daunting was the prospect that I, her doctor, would be too easily distracted to properly deliver, and Bella could give birth any day now – any hour.
We ran for miles into the Rocky Mountains, where we found a herd of moose. Here we let ourselves loose, feasting almost to the point of being gorged, reveling in the revitalisation the animals' hot blood provided. I felt my senses sharpen, and my mind clear as if, all along, it had been as simple as picking up my thoughts, my worries, my hopes, and file them away like papers in an office. I watched as the dance returned to Alice's step, and the cheek to her smile; as Jasper loosened up and grew confident again, as Emmett's energy and enthusiasm was rekindled, and as Esme once again came to glow with peace, strenth and optimism.
It was late afternoon when we finally satisfied ourselves. Emmett, Alice and Jasper laughed and joked as they sprinted off into the trees. Watching them, Esme grinned; her sweet golden eyes glistening with happiness. I kissed her forehead and drew her closer to me, and rested my chin on the top of her head where I could best recieve her warm cinnamon-and-roses scent. With one hand, Esme intertwined her dainty porcelain fingers with min e, and with the other, she proceeded to lazily draw patterns on the back of my trapped hand. And she was purring softly, her eyes closed in blissful respite.
Though I could have spent the rest of the night like this – silent and still like Monet's water lilies – I could not neglect my duties at home. Esme and I left the children playing, and visted Mercy Hospital in Vancouver to pick up more bloodbags. Esme sat down and waited patiently, flicking through a magazine carelessly tossed onto her chair, as I made the transaction, appearing as unfazed as I was by the awe-struck gazes of hospital staff, patients and visitors.
As we left, carrying the Eski between us, she leant sideways and murmured through her hair;
"I still don't like it when they ogle you like that."
"Me?" I replied with a chuckle. "I'd dress you in flour sacks if I thought it would take their eyes off you."
"Flour sacks?" she retorted. "Who still uses flour sacks?"
"Millers?"
Esme laughed and kissed me on the cheek. "I love it when you're old-fashioned."
With this comment, she took my side of the Eski as if it weighed no more than a loaf of bread, and took off for the next town: we needed as much blood as possible to give Bella her best chance, so we visited as many hospitals as we could. By sundown, we'd managed to fill the first Eksi, but there had been a plane crash in the Yukon that was draining on supplies north of British Columbia, including Alaska.
We returned to the clearing where we had separated, and upon hearing our approach, Emmett, Alice and Jasper met us there. They watched for my decision as I silently considered the amount of blood we had in our possession. Would it be enough? Was it worth running all the way to Ontario, where supplies would not be hindered, at the risk of missing or being late for Bella's birth? As it was, we had taken plenty of risks by being so many hours away for so long. But if we went to Ontario, it was quite possible we could increase our current supply by 150 or even 200 percent.
I put this proposal to the others, and they were just as stuck as I was: the whole decision relied on whether or not Bella would go into labour before we could get back from Ontario.
"Why don't we split up?" Jasper suggested. "Alice and I could take the Eski back – running against the sun I'd say we'd make it back by nightfall. You, Esme and Emmett could go to Ontario, try your luck at the hospitals there, and we'll call you the instant something happens. That means each group should be able to defend themselves in the case of hostile activity, there will be at least one controlled presence at the house, and in the off chance anything does happen, Alice can use her control and medical knowledge to deal with the situation until you get there."
Snap decision. The plan was full of holes, but sometimes moving forward is better for everyone than overthinking: besides, both other options were shots in the dark and this way we covered the most bases.
"Go."
Alice and Jasper were out of sight in less than a second, and the rest of us sprinted in the opposite direction.
.o.o.o.
We were almost at Lake Winnipeg when my cell rang. It was Alice. Already heading back towards Washington with Esme and Emmett unquestioningly tailing me, put it to my ear.
"Alice?"
"Carlisle thank God! I thought you were never going to pick up!"
"It's only been a second – what's happening?"
Suddenly, a menagerie of voices exploded from the tiny speaker.
"What's happening, Edward? He's suffocating! The placenta must have detached!"
"Carlisle…it's- it's killing her! She can't-"
"Get him OUT! He can't BREATHE! Do it NOW!"
"Put Rosalie on," I said, fighting for control of my tone against my uncharacteristic instinct to panic.
"Let the morphine spread!" Edward bellowed.
"There's no time," Rosalie hissed. "He's dying!"
"Pick up the scalpel to your left," I instructed. "Cut her belly. It won't pierce the amniotic sac, but-"
"No, ROSE!" Edward bellowed.
There was a crack, and then a silence so pure and terrifying it brought me to a halt.
"Rose?" I called. "Alice? Edward?"
Nobody picked up.
I slipped the cell back into my pocket, and the others looked at me with with solemn eyes. No doubt they had overheard every word.
"What do we do now?" Esme wondered quietly.
"Run," I recommended gravely. "Run, and pray that Bella is strong enough for this."