Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.
A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.
Chapter Twenty-One
Reading Breaking Dawn Part Two
Edward and Bella talked happily during lunch, for though she knew that something bad was going to be coming in the book, she still felt that she had a lot to look forward to now. Indeed, though she enjoyed her lunch, she was eager to continue reading to find out what was going to happen next. She was surprised right away when she realized that that this part seemed to be from Jacob's point of view.
"Why do you think the author chose to do it this way?" Bella questioned. "Do this book in Jacob's...?"
"I don't think the author had much of a choice in how she did it," Edward said thoughtfully.
Bella looked at him oddly, not quite sure what he meant by that.
"However, I think that it might be in this point of view because you're an invalid and don't get..." Edward continued with a smirk.
"Oh stop it," Bella glared at him. "And you can't tell me that you didn't wish it was from my point of view so you could hear my thoughts..."
"True," Edward chuckled.
Bella then started reading again. She felt a little sorry for Jacob when she read that Paul, one of his pack brothers, had imprinted on his sister. That had to be hard on him, being able to hear what Paul thought about his sister... Then she was reading about Quil and Claire. It seemed like an innocent enough relationship, but it still unnerved her a little, knowing what was going to happen.
Then they were having a pack meeting and Bella was fascinated at first upon hearing how they reacted together, how their thoughts and feelings were transferred through their link. Of course as soon as the Cullens were mentioned she got tense. It seemed that they thought that she was turned... not an altogether shocking discovery, but one that made her feel slightly ill. She was surprised at first, when Sam had decided to let it go, to allow her to be turned without starting a war between the two of them.
"Did you think something like this would happen in our time?" Bella asked.
"I'm not sure," Edward said. "In some ways our relationship with the wolves has been improved dramatically since you arrived here. We are able to talk to them... almost peacefully. Jacob actually considers us as friends..."
"But?" Bella asked, knowing it was coming.
"But in the books when we went through a tough battle... Carlisle healed Jacob... things like that had a great impact on the wolves and I know it contributed a lot to the way they feel about us," Edward sighed. "I hope they won't be a problem... I hope they will be able to see that it's your choice... but I can't be sure how they're going to react."
Bella was thoughtful for a moment before she started reading again. She found it hard to hear how bitter Jacob's thoughts were, how much he wanted to go after the Cullens... her family. She felt apprehensive when she got to the end of the chapter and it said that he was going to go alone to fight the Cullens.
She was anxious as the next chapter started, waiting for what was going to happen with bated breath. It didn't help at all that Jacob was just talking to Billy, she knew the fight was coming... that this was just stalling the inevitable. She tensed again as soon as Jacob ripped the phone off the wall and then left the house.
She shivered at Jacob planning on challenging Edward... she didn't want them to fight. She realized that it wouldn't really come to that, for Jacob would see that she was still human... but she was starting to fear what he would think about the baby that she was carrying. What would that do to Jacob? She wasn't really able to think of that for long though as Jacob was thinking about killing her Edward, and though she was confident that Edward could handle himself, the thought of Jacob getting killed was hard too. Not to mention she knew that Sam and the other wolves would definitely avenge Jacob. She tried not to think of that... the vampires and werewolves fighting... She had to believe that Edward wouldn't really do anything that would hurt Jacob... that would start the fight.
Then Jacob was going into the house and she was waiting for what was going to happen. Though it was a little comfort, it was nice to hear that Jacob had a higher opinion of Carlisle.
"I'm sorry," Bella said when she heard Edward's expression being described... she didn't want to put him though that kind of pain.
"It's all right, Bella," Edward kissed the top of her head. "I wasn't in nearly this amount of pain when I was reading this book..."
"Convinced you wouldn't let something like this happen so it wasn't something you had to worry about it," Bella mumbled, still looking down.
"Partly," Edward agreed with a slight chuckle. "But there was also a part of me that believed that this was what was always meant to happen... I had hoped that this would have a happy ending."
Bella nodded her head, and prepared herself for a hard time as she read this chapter. Though she understood that Edward didn't actually feel that, it wasn't going to make it any easier reading about this.
Bella shivered slightly as she read how she looked, and looked up at Edward questioningly.
"Don't worry; we know how to handle your pregnancy better... I don't think you're ever going to get to look like this," Edward said softly, but his body was tense as he too read this description.
The only good thing about all this was it seemed to have taken the fight out of Jacob, but again she was wary of how he was going to react to the pregnancy. The initial reaction to this wasn't as bad as she feared. It was a little too possessive for her taste but that wasn't so bad. She had expected him to think the baby was dangerous... that it was something that shouldn't exist. Then he was talking about the baby talking her life to feed its own... calling it a 'monster'. She didn't appreciate that very much at all... but it was still better than her other thought.
Of course she tensed as soon as Edward asked Jacob to go outside... surely Edward wasn't going to fight him. What good would that do anyone? That fear of the fight didn't stop her for one second to feel horrible for the pain that Edward was going through. How much pain even Jacob, someone that hated Edward, could see clearly in his eyes.
"Edward," Bella said softly as soon as he had said it was his fault. "This isn't..."
"I know," Edward said stroking her face softly, "I just thought I was going to lose you... that it was killing you... I was wrong of course, but if I ever thought I was the reason you were hurt... in pain... or d... dying. This is how I would feel," he said his eyes showing only a slight approximation of the pain his book self was feeling but that was enough to make Bella shudder and vow never to let herself get hurt if she could help it.
"I would, too, you know," Bella said in a voice that even Edward with his vampire hearing struggled to hear. "This is how I would feel if anything happened to you."
"I know," Edward agreed resting his head on hers.
Bella grimaced when Jacob suggested that Edward just hold her down and have Carlisle take the baby from her. She couldn't imagine the pain that would put her though... having her child taken from her like that... it was just wrong. She was even more disappointed when Edward said he would have done that if it weren't for Rosalie and she was thankful for her blonde haired sister for protecting her and that Emmett and Esme backed her up, too.
"Do you really think Carlisle would have helped you if I was against the abortion?" Bella asked, her voice was stiff and he could tell that she was upset with him. "You know without Esme on my side?"
"We... he would want to save you," Edward said, his voice filled with regret.
"It still doesn't seem like something that Carlisle would want to do," Bella said. "He tries so hard to do the right thing... this would go against that."
"Hm... maybe," Edward allowed, "but I believe he thought you were carrying a monster as surely as I was... and he wanted to save you..."
"Whatever," Bella huffed and then started reading again only to get angrier at Edward for using Jacob's feelings for her to try and get him to talk to her. And then when she heard Edward's idea she felt really angry. "Oh my God, Edward, what the hell!"
"Um..." Edward said looking her with a sheepish yet defiant look. "I'll do anything to keep you alive."
"Clearly," Bella glared at him. "I can't believe that you want Jacob to... argh... I can't even think of that. And do you really think that I would be happy with that? Do you really think I could want someone... anyone else's baby when I know I could have yours?"
"Well, you did picture having Jacob's kids... in the book," Edward shrugged.
"That's when I believed that we couldn't have children together!" Bella huffed. "I've already told you that was when I first pictured having the bronze haired little boy!"
"This will never happen in our reality, so you don't have to worry about it," Edward said soothingly.
"Whatever," Bella huffed and then started reading again. As she continued to read she knew her bad mood wasn't helping at all. She snorted indignantly when Jacob thought that they could share her and Edward said whatever. As if she would allow anything like that to happen. And, after feeling disturbed by Jacob fantasizing about her with him, she groaned as she realized the pain that Jacob would have felt picturing a future that could never happen. It was wrong of Edward to have involved him in their pain... to make him suffer too, when by all rights they should have left him alone.
She quickly went on to the next chapter, still feeling angry and waited for what her book self was going to say about this ridiculous idea. Her anger abated a little when she heard that Jacob didn't know why he was there and talking about it hurting him later when she was gone. She never wanted to hurt anyone like she seemed to be doing in this book and she was going to make sure she didn't.
She was thoughtful as her book self talked about magic. She wondered if she believed in that... it seemed a little odd to her, for she hadn't lived through all the things that her book self had. She still knew something else was at work here, for everything to work out like they did... there was something helping her. Then she was talking about imprinting and how that would make sense of what happened between them and she shivered. She couldn't really think why she reacted that way and she didn't let her mind drift to try to understand, she just kept reading.
She read about her plan of surviving her vampire pregnancy and it made sense. She would have to be transformed right away. She also agreed that she would be strong enough to keep her heart beating, for if not Edward never would have been so excited about this. So she didn't let any of Jacob's negative thoughts get to her. Bella looked pointedly at Edward when her book self said 'it was having this baby' and he almost chuckled at her look.
"I've already got that message, love," Edward said, leaning down to kiss her nose.
Bella couldn't help but smile at that, her bad mood lessening considerably, before she turned back to the book to read. She rolled her eyes when her book self thought that when Jacob said try again, that she thought he meant that Edward would still be the father. It seemed obvious that wasn't the cause to her, but then again Jacob hadn't really made himself clear. Then with his second attempt at explaining she thought of artificial insemination, which she had to admit was a lot better idea than going to Jacob and... she shivered at that thought. And then she finally got what Jacob was saying, she was grinning at him... like it was really okay for Edward to offer her off to Jacob. Then again she had to admit that her book self didn't hear what Edward had said or how much pain the book Jacob went through so it was easier to see the ridiculous side of this situation.
She grimaced when Jacob said she loved the wrong things. Who was he to say what was wrong for her to love? Maybe it was him that was loving the wrong thing when he loved her... if he never loved her none of them would have been put through as much pain as they had been through. All she knew was that it was completely right that she loved Edward and her child that wasn't even conceived yet.
And then Jacob was leaving and phasing back into a wolf. She read with growing fear as the wolves went over all Jacob's thoughts about what had happened. Her worst fears seemed to be coming true as she read the wolves call her baby an abomination. She knew what was coming and she felt her body tense, Edward's arms wrapping around her to calm her down.
"They're going to react like this in our reality too, aren't they," Bella voice quivered.
"Of course not," Edward said softly. "Most of their fears come from the fact that they don't know what the child will be. But now we know... we can easily make them see that she wouldn't be a danger to them or anyone else."
"Okay," Bella nodded her head and felt a lot better hearing this. However this didn't help at all when the wolves were actually planning the attack on her family. She didn't like this one bit... she knew that in a fight that both the vampires and wolves would be hurt... that she would lose people she cared about on both sides.
Though Bella could see that Jacob's thoughts about Carlisle's gentle nature was helping him realize that this was wrong, it still made her cringe when he thought about it making the vampire easier to kill. She knew he had a point and hated to think of Carlisle being in danger like that. She also hated that Sam had ordered Jacob to follow his order... that Jacob would have no choice but to participate in this.
She went on to the next chapter hoping that something would happen to stop this. She cringed when she read the thoughts the wolves had about facing Jasper and Emmett, though of course she had more fear that the wolves would get her, for her brothers were terrifying. However, it wasn't long before she felt hopeful. For Jacob was able to fight the Alpha command, because he was supposed to be the Alpha. She didn't really want Jacob to stand against his brothers, and she knew it would cause him pain, but she also knew that to stop the fight, that would hurt them all worse, this had to happen. She was also glad that Jacob resisted fighting with Sam, and his objection to trying to take someone's will away... that didn't seem right to her.
Then Jacob was running away from his brothers to protect her. She sighed when he described his pain; of his hallow Alpha power... because he had no one to lead. However that didn't last long, and she was happy when Seth had joined Jacob, and was supporting him. She also liked it because she knew the other werewolves wouldn't dream of attacking now... not when her family would be warned and could lose two of their members... that it would be an even fight.
She was a little shocked to hear that Jacob couldn't hear the other wolves when he became his own Alpha... it was interesting, though of course it didn't matter much at the moment because she was worried, especially when he pointed out that he wouldn't know if the other pack was planning an attack now. Then Jacob and Seth were at the house and talking to Edward and she groaned when Edward had said they wanted to kill Bella, obviously meaning the other wolves, but Emmett and Jasper took it to mean Jacob and Seth. She hated how easy it was for a fight to break out between the two groups... how one small thing could possible start the fighting. She wished there was something that could be done that would make things less stressful.
"He has a point, Edward, there's nothing you wouldn't do or ask for to make sure I'm safe," Bella said.
"And that's a bad thing?" Edward said to her and she shook her head.
Bella continued to read. She agreed with Seth that it was horrible that Jacob had agreed to kill Edward, but was worried about her family thinking that they were being attacked. She didn't like how the scene was described, of how she was like now. She didn't like that she was getting worse and what it was doing to Edward. She didn't like the growing hostility between Edward and Rosalie... how yet another fight seemed on the edge of breaking out.
The next chapter started off making her panic... a wolf was coming... but then it was just Leah, and they could hear her thoughts and she realized that she wasn't going to be a danger to them. It was odd thinking of Leah joining them but she realized before Leah even mentioned it in the book why she really would want to join Jacob's pack. The idea of getting away from Sam's thoughts... of not hearing what he now thought of her... of Emily... Of everything that is happening there, that would be too tempting to not to switch sides. Even if it meant that she had to be near the vampires. However, she also realized that Leah must have somehow realized that Jacob was right too... for if she really thought the child would be dangerous to her family... she was the type of girl that would suffer that pain. Maybe not silently... but suffer all the same.
Bella almost smiled as she read on and she could already see a difference in Leah's thoughts... and it wasn't only just because she was trying to show Jacob that she wouldn't be bad. Not having to be troubled all the time was such a relief that Leah now had a chance to be herself again (not that Bella knew who that was). She could see that it really was good for the pack as a whole for them to split up, though she still wished it wasn't these circumstances that did it.
Bella could almost smile when Carlisle and Jacob talked on the porch. It was nice to see that the two could get along... she knew that Carlisle still longed to question Jacob about his legends in her reality. It was nice to see this relationship translate in the book. She smiled when Carlisle said that he wouldn't force her to lose the baby... she knew he wouldn't, Carlisle was too good for that.
However, she felt horrible reading how hard this was on Carlisle... how the doctor was unable to help her because he didn't know anything about a pregnancy like this. How useless he felt. It was hard to hear the calm and collective Carlisle so distressed.
And then Jacob mentioned blood and it made perfect sense. The baby must want blood... it was part vampire after all... it must need blood. She hoped that someone realized this, for Jacob didn't say it out loud... hopefully Edward wasn't so absorbed with talking to her that he wasn't listening to this too.
Then she was back to being sad that Carlisle didn't know to warn them; not that he needed to because everything was going to be okay in the end, but still it was hard to see Carlisle in pain. She chuckled when Jacob mentioned being ten shades of jealous in Edward's cause.
Bella knew as soon as Jacob thought that Edward had a look of a hope that he realized that she needed blood. It was the second after she thought this smugly that she realized how she was going to get this blood. "I'm going to have to drink it!" she said starting to get sick just thinking about it.
Edward sighed and then answered simply, "Yes."
Bella, still feeling sick, forced herself to read; if that's what she had to do to make sure her baby was safe, she would do it. She just hoped that it didn't taste as bad as it smelled... it wasn't a high hope.
She continued reading with a sour face, telling herself it would be worth it in the end. "Oh... do you think you can give it to me intravenously if we start giving it to me before I get this bad?" she asked really hopeful this time.
"Hm... I think it would help," Edward said, though he thought it would be healthier for the baby if she were to drink it; it would go directly to the baby then, but if she wanted to do it this way they would. As long as both Bella and Renesmee were safe that is. Bella felt uncomfortable when Jacob questioned if Rosalie was after her child. It seemed that was what was most important to the blonde vampire, but Bella was sure that Rose had other reasons for backing her up in this too.
She felt sick again when she thought that drinking the blood would be practice for the future... there was a difference then, at least in the future she would want to drink the blood... it would be what she needed. Now though...
She started reading the next chapter but wasn't reading with her normal speed, she wasn't looking forward to reading the actually act... and that didn't get any better when Edward said not the clear cup... she could picture herself... yuck. But, apparently it wouldn't be as bad as she thought... not if it smelled good. It didn't stop her from being a little queasy now, but knowing it wouldn't be hard for her to drink the blood while pregnant did ease her worries some. She was definitely not looking forward to that but it was nice knowing it wouldn't be completely disgusting.
Bella chuckled when she read Jacob's thought about Edward working on the honesty thing.
"I think I'm pretty honest with you actually," Edward said, smiling too.
"I know... but I still hear you muttering under your breath sometimes," Bella said to him.
"Yes... I will have to learn not to do that," Edward sighed.
She didn't find Jacob's next comment as funny, even thought it seemed that Edward had.
"You know that's not true, right, Edward?" Bella asked. "About not hearing my thoughts?"
"I know that you like that I can't hear your thoughts," Edward said.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't like you if you heard my thoughts," Bella said. "I would be a little embarrassed... and I might not have interested you as much..."
"Bella, love," Edward chuckled. "I heard all the thoughts that you would have thought before I even met you and it only made me love you more... made you more interesting to me."
"That's nice to know," Bella smiled at him, blushing. "And I want you to know that there isn't anything you could do that would make me not love you."
"That's nice to know," Edward repeated her words, giving her the lopsided smile that he knew she loved. Her heartbeat picked up as she looked at him and she was redder by the time she started reading again.
Bella found herself reading about Jacob not sleeping, and felt badly for him. She knew how hard it was to function when you're exhausted and she really wished he would just listen to her and get some sleep. She thought of a completely different reason for Rosalie to have a bed when Jacob suggested that it was a prop and found herself blushing again.
Still the best part of this chapter so far was the fact that she looked noticeable better in just a few minutes... Edward was starting to smile and almost laugh again… she especially liked that she mentioned eating eggs, remembering that she had preferred them on Esme Isle. Things were looking better. She knew it was too much to hope that things would keep up that way but it was nice that at least a part of a chapter wasn't all doom and gloom.
Of course immediately after this thought Seth and Leah were howling, a signal that the other wolves were coming and Jacob was running off to join them... ruining the only clothes he now owned. She read this part with sick anticipation that made her earlier queasiness seem silly. Jacob was facing his pack brothers, not sure if he was going to have to fight them or not... It was all wrong.
The meeting again wasn't going as bad as she thought. It seemed like the pack was going to back off for the time being. However, she did get upset when she heard that Leah thought that Sam was banking on her dying and that Jacob would want to kill her baby if that happened. And frowned even more when Jacob thought it was likely to be true. She really hoped that he would give her child the benefit of the doubt... even if she died... he should wait to see if her baby was good or evil, shouldn't he?
Though still upset, she had to admit that the way that Jacob handled himself in this meeting was very good. He seemed like a good leader... a little passive but someone that you would want to follow. She didn't like it at all when Jared had tried to get Seth to come home by using Sue and how hard it was on her with him gone like this. Even using his father, that had recently died against him. It just wasn't right. The kid didn't deserve that. Equally as bad was the way that he tried to get Leah to come back, by using Sam's old nickname for her, but she knew that had no chance of working. All it would do would be to piss Leah off.
It was nice to hear that the reason why Embry wasn't there wasn't because the others were planning anything but because he would be too tempted to join Jacob's pack. Though, it was a little sad. It just showed how painful this kind of separation was. She rolled her eyes at how Jacob's pack reacted to her drinking blood and she was finding that she liked Seth more and more the longer she read about him.
She figured that now was the best time to put the book down and make dinner for Charlie so that's what she did. It was a few hours later that she was up in her room reading the next chapter. She really wished that Jacob would just lie down and go to sleep but of course he had to tell them that everything was okay first. She was pleased to see that someone (and she was sure who it was) left clothes for Jacob to wear.
She felt a little odd when she saw how she reacted to Jacob coming back. She thought her book self had realized it wasn't right for her to act that way but there she was getting excited every time that Jacob came into the room. She was just as confused as Jacob was and didn't like this one bit. She tried not to smile at the blonde joke, but it was hard.
Though she would rather Edward had let Jacob sleep, she was still happy when she realized that Esme, via Edward, was telling Jacob that he could have anything he needed to get along. It was nice that they were being considerate to him.
And then she sighed when she was hurt... causing Edward (and Jacob) to worry about her again. It seemed the baby had broken her ribs... this really was going to be a tough pregnancy. But it will be worth it, she reminded herself.
She felt sad when she realized that Jacob was right. Alice wasn't around her during most of what was happening. She hated that she was causing Alice headaches... that she was making her sister worry about her safety just as much as Edward and Jacob. She also hated that Alice couldn't see the baby... it would have been so easy if she could have just seen that everything was okay and that no one had to worry at all. She still found herself chuckling when Alice compared Jacob to aspirin.
Then Jacob was finally sleeping... having disturbing dreams, but at least he was sleeping. She got a little mad when Jacob got angry with Seth for helping her stay warm... she wasn't Jacob's girlfriend after all... he didn't have any claim over her.
She worried about the Cullens going hunting now... with the way things were but she thought that Jacob's advice would be enough to keep them safe. She agreed with Carlisle that there was no way that Jacob should face his brothers in a fight... even if the wolves did attack; the thought of the wolves fighting each other was horrible and unacceptable.
She then smiled when Esme brought Jacob food, and how Jacob thought that she managed to remind him of his mother. It was just the power that Esme had to make you feel at ease and Bella really loved that about her. She rolled her eyes when Jacob mentioned throwing the food out, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to resist the cooking... She was even more exasperated when he didn't want Edward to tell Esme what he thought. As if Edward would do such a thing... it would only hurt Esme feelings and she didn't know of anyone that wanted to hurt Esme's feelings.
She continued on to the next chapter and smirked when Jacob talked about showing Leah a good example when he ate the breakfast... like anyone would buy that.
"I was thinking that too. Why didn't we just leave when we learned the wolves were thinking about hurting the baby?" Bella asked.
"It's not as simple as that, Bella, you know you're not in any shape to be moved and there are definite advantages of staying here," Edward said.
"I suppose if I keep reading I'll figure out what they are."
"I suppose you're right," Edward chuckled and Bella started reading again.
"Oh... that does make sense," Bella said after reading that part.
"Why am I talking to Charlie?" she asked. She was rather surprised when she heard that she was talking to her dad. She didn't think she would be talking to him anytime soon...
"You thought of something that would keep Charlie in your life for a little longer," Edward said frowning. "Just keep reading, Bella; you'll see what I mean eventually."
"Right," Bella said raising an eyebrow, but she did as he asked and started reading again.
Again she was annoyed by how she brightened up when Jacob showed up. But she was happy that with Jacob around Alice was able to be around too. She couldn't help laughing when Rosalie gave Jacob a doggy bowl... it was just too funny.
"So it's going to take forty days for me to give birth?" Bella questioned.
"It's a pregnancy... you know you can't really say how long it will take," Edward said. "But yes... it would be around that long."
"He's not going to get his four days is he?" Bella sighed.
"No," Edward chuckled.
"Edward... do you know what date the baby was conceived?" Bella asked blushing slightly.
"We are pretty sure... given all that we had learned from the book," Edward said, "though no date was actually stated in the book."
"Good," Bella sighed, knowing if they were planning to try to have this particular baby, that knowing this was very important.
Bella's eyes widened when she read Jacob thinking about how her belly expanding gave her gravitational force. She was trying her hardest not to connect the dots that were now forming in her head... for she really wished she wasn't right about this. She quickly started reading again, trying to make sure she didn't think about this right now. However, the subject matter that they were talking about didn't help any. What did she mean that he was part of her family... that everything felt complete when he was there? That just wasn't right! And why was she feeling that so much right now?
"How am I planning on seeing Charlie again?" Bella asked, happy for a diversion this time, and instead of letting Edward answer she kept reading. "Wow... would that work?"
"Well, both Charlie and you would be safe," Edward said, "you wouldn't have broken the rules for Charlie wouldn't actually know that you're a vampire. And as long as he doesn't find out what you really are... he would be safe."
"I like that plan then," Bella smiled, it was nice knowing that she might still get to see her dad a little longer. "Does it work?"
"It works well enough," Edward smiled. "But it is a very delicate matter... we have to be careful."
She continued reading and then said, "Wow, I didn't really think you would be able to research this. I didn't think this ever really happened."
"We were going off of what Kaure said to me, I'm sure," Edward said. "We searched around for any information about this before you came to live in Forks... you know we were all bored waiting for you to get here. Anyway, there really wasn't much that we could pull together..."
Bella started reading again and frowned when she heard how Rosalie talked about what happened to the mothers that were supposed to have given birth to babies like hers and Edward's. It did sound cold... but she could also see that she was trying to be reassuring in her own way.
She frowned when Jacob threw the bowl at Rosalie... and tried to keep frowning when she was upset about getting food in her hair, but she couldn't manage it. It might not be nice to laugh, but she couldn't help herself. She did grimace, however, when he thought about throwing something at her too.
And then they were talking about the similarities the baby had to Jacob and though she didn't really find the gene count thing that fascinating she was wondering if the baby would have anything in common with Jacob. The chapter ended with Jacob thinking about how the baby would get out of her... it was a little weird thinking of someone... doing that.
She moved on to the next chapter after that. She kind of liked the growing friendship and understanding that Leah and Jacob seemed to have at the beginning of this chapter. She smiled when Leah said that Jacob was a good leader, and knew exactly where she was coming from when she said that she wanted to stay in Jacob's pack. She was intrigued to hear the way that Jacob hunted in his wolf form. She never really thought how he would be, but she supposed it made sense. And it was nice to see that he was helping Leah out. She could also see that having Leah in his pack even after everything was done would be helpful to him, for she would understand his pain... she might be able to help repair some of the damage that her book self had done.
She was shocked that Leah would be on her side to make sure she had a baby, and horrified to learn that Leah might not be able to have her own child. Because of the transformation she might not ever be able to bear children... it was so sad. She found the talk about the wolf imprint slightly interesting (though Billy's idea made her a little uneasy), but she was too sad about Leah's fate to care that much about it.
Bella was slightly disappointed with Jacob when he thought about issuing one Alpha order that would make Leah stay in La Push, being miserable. However, the next second she let it go, knowing that he was just mad right now, and once he cooled down he would think about this more rationally. She winced when she learned that once again she was hurt by the baby... this was something that was going to happen in her reality too. She was afraid of how much it was going to hurt and she was afraid of how much Edward was going to worry whenever she was hurt.
She rolled her eyes when Jacob had only decided to stay in the house because he wanted to annoy Rosalie... she wondered if they were always going to have that kind of relationship.
She smiled when Isle Esme was mentioned again; she really wished she would be able to go there with Edward. However, she couldn't help but notice that Edward was acting strangely and she wanted to get to the bottom of that.
"You can hear the baby... when she's still in me!" Bella exclaimed.
"Apparently," Edward chuckled. "As soon as the baby is developed enough, yes, I can hear her."
"Wow!" Bella said still shocked. "I didn't expect that."
"Neither did I," Edward smiled. "I've talked it over with Carlisle, and he's confident that as soon as I am able to hear the baby, that it would be safe for us to deliver her..."
"You're sure that won't hurt her?" Bella asked sounding worried.
"Yes, I'm sure," Edward smiled at her and she knew he was telling the truth.
She quickly started reading again, because she found she really wanted to hear what Edward would say, for it looked like he was finally coming around and getting excited about the birth.
"Hm... did you say him slowly there because you knew the baby was actually a girl," Bella questioned Edward, finding it a lot easier to smile while reading this part.
"I can't answer that until I am able to hear our child's thoughts while still in your womb," Edward answered and Bella rolled her eyes, and started reading the book again.
"I named our child... well, at least I picked out a name for a son without even telling you about it," Bella said, frowning slightly.
"I wasn't exactly in the name picking mood before," Edward chuckled. "I don't really mind, love."
"Did I pick a girl's name too?" Bella questioned.
"Yep," Edward smiled, and Bella sighed before she went back to reading the book. She smiled when she heard that the baby liked hearing Edward's voice, too.
"So I wanted to name our son Edward," Bella said. "Wouldn't that have been confusing... having two Edwards in the house for all eternity?"
"Probably, but seeing as we had a girl, you don't have to worry about that," Edward chuckled, and Bella started reading again but almost immediately asked another question.
"Renesmee... really that's the name I chose?" Bella said looking odd. "It's kind of peculiar, isn't it?"
"Which is perfect for our little girl," Edward smiled, "seeing how unique she is."
"You like the name then," Bella said.
"Well, you have to know that I've been thinking about our daughter a lot these past nine months and her name was always Renesmee," Edward said. "I didn't think you would have minded the name seeing as you were the one to come up with it."
"No, I don't mind it," Bella said, now thinking about how Edward was thinking about their child for months. "I was just saying it's was a peculiar name."
She went excitedly back to the book after that, only to have Jacob's pessimism ruin the mood. Did he really have to be so hurt just because Edward was now happy about the baby? Couldn't he see that the child wasn't a monster if it was thinking like Edward said it was thinking? No, he had to overreact and now she wouldn't know how her talk with the baby was going to go.
Okay, so she felt bad for Jacob, and yes as soon as the next chapter started and he was driving (in Edward's Aston Martin) to go and find someone to imprint on, she was hoping that he would be successful. She didn't want him to be in any more pain because of her, but she knew it was a pointless task that he was doing. And she had a growing suspicious about what was going to happen, and wished more than ever that his pointless task would actually pan out.
Of course it didn't and now he was driving back thinking about allowing Leah to go with him, like she knew he was going to do. Then he was talking to Edward about several things. Starting off with the fact that Leah had come in to yell at her book self. She shivered slightly; the feisty werewolf wasn't someone that she wanted yelling at her; though she agreed completely with Leah's points. Then they were talking about the development of the child, and how the baby had won over Edward because of its love for her. She was still annoyed to hear Jacob's negative thoughts about the baby, but she let it go, knowing that he was hurting and it was just easier to lash out like that.
"Do you really think of Jacob like a brother?" Bella questioned.
"Yeah, sort of," Edward said, but his eyes were sort of tight and hard for her to read. "Not as close as Emmett or Jasper, but the kid is growing on me."
When she got back to reading Edward was asking Jacob for permission to change her into a vampire. Saying that it was only Jacob's right as the heir of Ephraim to grant them that right.
"Do you think that will really work... keep the werewolves for attacking us?" Bella asked.
"Are you talking about in the book or in our reality?" Edward asked in return.
"Both," Bella said.
"Well, in the book it works out fine," Edward said, "and in our reality, we're really going to have to see what happens before I can say anything for certain... but I think it would."
Bella nodded her head and then started reading again, and Jacob was giving her permission to be changed and the smile she had only lasted a second before her book self was in pain and everything was going to hell.
She hurried to read the next chapter, wanting to know what was going to happen, though she was sure it was going to end all right, it was in her nature to panic. She didn't really notice any of Jacob's narratives or negative thoughts as she quickly read. She paled when she heard about the detached placenta, though she didn't really know what it meant. She shivered when she learned it meant the baby couldn't breathe. She shuddered when Rosalie caved into her craving for her book self's blood, though thought it was a good thing that Jacob and Alice were able to get her out of there quickly, and that Rosalie didn't put up any kind of fight. She hoped that Jacob would be able to keep her heart beating with CPR. She winced terribly when she heard him say that her spine was broken. She hoped her book self listened to Jacob's desperate pleas that she stay alive. She had to stay alive (or undead, whatever works). Then she was smiling, when she heard that Renesmee was born safely.
"That's going to be one really hard birth," Bella commented.
"Yes... and it's highly dangerous to you," Edward agreed with a sigh.
"It's worth it," Bella said. "Going through that kind of pain will only make it more worth it in the end. Besides, now we know more about what to expect... it should be easier for us."
"Hmph," Edward said now frowning. "I know it's going to be easier... but that doesn't mean it won't be dangerous... I want to meet Renesmee more than anything, but at the same time I can't bear the thought of losing you..."
"I'm not going anywhere," Bella smiled at him. "I can handle this, Edward."
"I know," Edward kissed the top of her head. "But you know how I get when I hear you are or will be in pain."
"Yeah," Bella smiled and then started to read again. She ignored Jacob's pessimism of her holding her baby. Of course she would want to see her child as soon as she was born. She did have to cringe a little when Renesmee bit her, and felt a hundred times more anxious when Jacob had said her heart stopped beating. No this can't be... she had to live! She read quickly as she saw that Edward had a needle with his venom in it and he plunged it directly into her heart.
"You made an injection of your venom!" Bella exclaimed.
"Yes," Edward chuckled.
"I hate needles," Bella mumbled.
Edward really laughed at that, but then said, "It's a lot faster this way and you only burn a little more than two days..."
"So your morphine idea isn't going to work," Bella sighed when she saw the pain in his eyes when he said that she was going to burn.
"You'll see," Edward said in an even voice, but she knew it didn't mean he was calm.
She continued to read as Edward frantically tried to heal her and how Jacob seemed to have given her up for dead. Bella felt really bad for the pain that Jacob was going through thinking that she was dead... dead in the way that you can't come back from. She didn't take any notice of the bitter direction his thoughts were going until they were about her baby. She found herself growing angry and she knew she couldn't excuse his thoughts about wanting to kill her baby. However, she realized quickly what the pull really meant... she could feel it. She had known this would happen from the moment that the book started in Jacob's point of view and she groaned... finishing the chapter and only dimly aware that she was going to make it through this for she had a lot more important things to discuss.
"I can't believe it!" she hissed bitterly. "I can't believe that he did that! And you... why didn't you tell me this was going to happen... that... that m... that he... Imprinted on our child!"
"We had to find it out the hard..." Edward started to say, his mouth pulled thin as he watched her with amusement.
"This isn't funny, Edward!" Bella huffed. "I don't want Jacob and my daughter... argh... that's disgusting! He's my best friend... and now he's going to be what... my son-in-law... that's just not right! I can't believe you didn't tell me something like this could happen."
"When is it that you think I could have told you this?" Edward questioned.
"I don't know," Bella grumbled.
"Are you saying that you wished that you were never friends with Jacob in the first place... that this wouldn't have seemed too odd to you then?" Edward carried on.
"I don't know," Bella said, considerably less mad, but it didn't help any with her annoyance. "I don't really want to think about our daughter having a boyfriend before she's one hour old."
"I know, I don't particularly like that either," Edward said. "And there are other things about this that annoy the hell out of me... but it's not all bad."
"Really," Bella said doubtfully.
"I'll only tell you one argument, and then you'll have to read the rest of the book to see how you'll feel about this," Edward said and Bella waited to hear his argument. "I wasn't the one to come up with this... in fact this was used on me to calm me down, but it was pointed out to me that the way that imprinting is described... the love the wolves have, is all consuming. And I want my daughter to be loved completely for everything that she is... and Jacob isn't a bad guy..."
"That's not really convincing me," Bella said still hotly, though she could see his point somewhat... she did want her daughter to be happy after all.
"No... It didn't convince me much either," Edward chuckled. "But there's nothing saying that Jacob has to be there when Renesmee is born... maybe we can have some time before we introduce them."
"That's sounding better," Bella sighed. "But still really annoying."
Edward chuckled his agreement and Bella moved on to the third and last part of the book.
A/N: So here's the second part of the book. Sorry I didn't post this on this Tuesday last, but I really didn't feel like writing it then... I needed a few days break from this story. Anyway, I'm going to have the third part of this book up on Tuesday and a new chapter that is all my own material on Friday.