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Chapter 149
Silent Night ...
Edward
It was Monday. The day before Christmas Eve.
I hadn't woken my children - as advertised - but Alice and Jasper had. With not nearly as good tasting coffee as my kids were used to, as they complained to me afterwards.
That made me a little proud.
We had breakfast and unwrapped the second to last calendar gifts.
A Christmas verse for me and home-baked cookies from Esmé for the others, which of course had not been in the packages for twenty-three days. Such attentions Esmé always secretly filled in the night before.
Before the kids disappeared again afterwards - they were meeting their group of friends - Jake, Becky, Leah, and Marcus stood around me at the dining table and put a carton on the table in front of me.
"Gift giving is in two days," I reminded them with a smirk. I didn't eavesdrop on their thoughts. I tried - as far as possible - to always give them their privacy. There was a sufficient buzz of voices that I wasn't forced to listen, and whatever that meant, I certainly didn't want to spoil their surprise. That it was one was unmistakable. All four of them were grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"So what?" asked Jake.
"It's the last time that we will all see you together before Christmas," Becky explained.
Unfortunately, she was right. I would see HER again in three days.
"Think of it as a premature gift from us," Marcus commented.
"Come on, Dad. Open it," Leah urged me.
So I took the carton in my hand.
A shoe box - decorated with lots of Christmas stickers and with a big bow around it.
Carefully, I lifted the lid and then took two seconds to understand the contents.
It contained countless small pieces of paper. All of them were handwritten and painted as if by small children, which they had certainly done on purpose. Vouchers. For all sorts of things. Babysitting was one of them. Or washing my car/s. 'All four!' was written very small in the margin.
Quickly I pushed the note down.
Also - Do my homework. Make breakfast. 'Empty nest' I found a few times at first sight. Butler for one day. Chauffeur. And underneath there were also some empty slips of paper, on which there was only the same sentence: 'Please enter wish here:'.
"With that, we want to thank you," Leah said.
"For what you do for us every day," Jake opined.
"Whether we ask you to or not," Becky added.
"And regardless of Christmas," Marcus followed up.
I felt the heat of emotion rise in my body and manifest in my eyes as I hugged all my children.
Bella was right, as always. Gifts were never about money! This was the most beautiful gift I had ever received in my more than one hundred and twenty-three years. It didn't cost a cent and yet it came from the heart. It moved me that they had thought about giving me a little pleasure. And they really did, although it was only small things. All that had become so natural for me in this family - just that I woke them up in the morning with a cup of coffee - all four of them appreciated and did not take it for granted even after these many weeks.
It took me a while to tear myself away from my children, but then they disappeared.
They had plans.
My angel went swimming again.
She enjoyed feeling lighter in the water. But I wasn't there, which dampened my spirits a bit. Unfortunately, I promised her that I would not besiege her day and night. With increasing pregnancy, it was also increasingly difficult for me. When I wasn't with Bella, I had the feeling that I was missing something. However, I could rule out the possibility that I would miss the birth.
Various reasons. Carlisle was sure that my child was only missing a few centimeters of abdominal girth. Bella felt extremely comfortable, and I would be informed immediately if there was any change. The baby had also apparently declared that it did not want to leave the warm protective cover yet. I was not sure, however, whether Bella had possibly just made this up to get rid of me.
I gritted my teeth.
I was jealous! I had been waiting for the day when I could listen to my baby's thoughts. I imagined it - like Emma's. A structure of colors and emotions. Well, yes. Maybe a little less color, since it was certainly not very colorful in the womb and my baby knew insofar no colors yet. And then came this! I did not hear the slightest sound, but Bella had regular conversations with our Knob! Jazz was now also much with Bella, because he was - and I quote: 'fascinated by the innocence and unaffectedness of deep and pure feelings, although they were very tender!' I felt left out! I was pissed!
"What are the twins doing today?" David asked me in a chatty tone.
I ran my hands through my hair in dissatisfaction and turned my attention back to the here and now.
I was already the whole morning with David on the way to do various things. Right now we were picking out the last Christmas present.
"Are meeting with their friends at our place today and plan to play 'The Dark Eye' all day," I informed well-behavedly.
"And over the holidays? How about Marcus and Becky?" he asked further.
I knew he was trying to distract me. Besides feeling left out, I was also increasingly nervous when I wasn't with Bella. I was grateful to him for the distraction.
"Becky has to go back home tonight. She's going to Boston with her parents tomorrow to visit relatives. But Jake is invited there for coffee on December 26 and has permission to take her back afterwards," I told him.
"So he probably leaves right after breakfast, so he won't be late," David meant, and we shared a laugh.
That's probably how it would go, though I would certainly still have to talk Jake into breakfast.
"And Marcus?"
"Will stay for breakfast tomorrow, but then drive to his aunt's house where his mother currently resides. His relationship with her is a bit strained due to his childhood and youth, but he doesn't want to hurt her by spending Christmas Eve somewhere else. He's not sure how long he can last there," I stated, and David nodded in understanding.
He knew from us how Marcus had grown up and he was very sorry. In a tipsy state, David had once railed against Marcus's father for an entire evening.
"That one!" I then said.
We smirked.
We were at an animal shelter and strolled through the animal enclosures.
And this little Golden Retriever puppy was the only one who didn't bark or growl at me. He even awkwardly plodded towards me, wagging his tail, and licking my fingers. It was probably not the most intelligent animal of the litter, but if it was not afraid of me, David's children could certainly do whatever they wanted without it affecting this sweet dog.
It was the last Christmas gift that had been missing. David and Sonya had been talking about a family dog for a long time, so that the children would learn some responsibility. Now that David was working from home, they were finally able to do it without worry. This way, all the work would not be left to Sonya alone during the day when the children were at school.
We bought all further necessities and drove again.
I took the dog with me.
It would be 'unwrapped' only on Christmas morning.
It was afternoon and I found my angel asleep in our temporary room.
The guest room next to the treatment room. Better safe than sorry!
I put the puppy on the bed, and he sought his way to my beloved, wagging his tail. For a moment he sniffed at our baby and trustfully rubbed his head against Bella's belly. Then he crawled on, fought his way to a place between her hands, hair, and pillow with plenty of perseverance and ingenuity, and began to lick Bella.
"Ed ... ward!" my angel cutely contorted her pretty face and brought her hands between herself and the puppy's rough tongue that just wouldn't stop.
"Should I be worried that you don't know me from an animal?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.
She snapped her eyes wide open, saw me at the end of the bed, and looked at the little ball of fur.
"Oooohhhhhh ..." she made delightedly, and chuckling, let herself be licked further.
I just shook my head.
I had never been greeted like this before!
But I forgave my angel. She looked much too sweet to be angry with her.
The rest of the day and the evening passed quietly.
We sat together. Some of us read, Sue and Charlie strolled the property, Bella destroyed the ice cream inventory, Carlisle was still on duty at the hospital today, Esmé and Rose ran last minute errands - including ice cream! – and one played with the puppy. Tomorrow we would take turns hiding the little rascal from David's children.
Our children also arrived quite early.
Jake was even in a really good mood, even though he wouldn't see Becky again for another three days. They talked about their adventure today, in which Jason had apparently mucked around with them. Marcus felt deceived. His second game and already his personal playful puppy protection had been lifted.
I knew of 'The Black Eye' role playing game. So to speak. Theoretically. I had found the extensive rulebook a few years ago by chance on the Internet and read through it out of boredom. Thereby I had to read some passages actually several times, in order to understand it. Now Marcus had literally been thrown in the deep end.
He took it with humor and found the game quite interesting, even though his character almost departed this life.
Since I would be redecorating Daniel's room tonight with my siblings and we were going to hunt again before the holidays, Jake would sleep with Bella so she wouldn't be alone. In addition, Carlisle and Esmé were of course at home and watched over all my angels.
Everything went smoothly and so quietly that no one noticed us. Only David had woken up once and looked in on us, but we weren't to blame for that.
He had dreamed weird stuff, which he then told us about in the middle of the night. At great length, in all kinds of strange detail.
A snowstorm and he was wearing swimwear. Actually, he wanted to pick up Sonya for shopping, but she had packed five kids so full of bags and boxes that one did not recognize the children. Ergo, she was already shopping, whereupon he hopped on a jet ski and whizzed through the deep snow. At least he had a scarf and gloves on, so he didn't catch a cold.
When I was back in the early morning hours, my loved ones were ALL asleep in our bed. They had only comfortable clothes on - not sleepwear - insofar they had apparently fallen asleep unexpectedly.
And my goddess snored.
She was lying on her back and the little puppy on top of her belly. All fours stretched out from itself.
The beast disputed my place! I had to put a stop to it immediately!
There was no more room to lie down next to my beloved. Marcus and the twins made themselves very wide in this quite large bed. In order not to disturb the peace of my angels, I had no choice but to sit on the edge of the bed. Nevertheless, I nudged the dog off her belly to put my hand gently on my baby.
The little ball of fur startled, squirmed a bit so it could move, scrambled up to Bella's shoulder and lay down as if kissing her cheek.
Who had won here now?
Esmé brought coffee for my children and the cocoa for Bella the next morning. She chuckled gleefully when she saw that the dog was sleeping at Bella's side and there was no real room for me in bed.
"You're not jealous, are you?" she asked me cautiously.
"To a flea circus like that? Certainly not!" I waved it off. It was a lie.
Esmé noticed, of course, and left again, chuckling.
I sighed, but I woke up my goddess.
With a kiss that hopefully made her forget the beast.
It worked pretty well. At least until this 'something' wanted to join in, wagging his tail.
"I'm not ready to share you with that thing!" I very sternly pointed out, but Bella was already chuckling so adorably again that I couldn't be mad.
I helped my angel lean upright against the headboard of the bed and handed her her cup before turning to the children.
"Leah once put my suitcases in front of the door because I didn't want to give in to her requests for a dog," my angel smiled as the cups were slowly emptied in good humor.
Bella's transfusion was running, and the dog was scrambling from one to the other.
By the way, I had a place on the bed in the meantime!
The twins went for a run before breakfast as usual, of course, but they took the dog with them so we could get ready without paying attention to the awkward puppy.
'Housebroken' was not his middle name so far! Afterwards, I saw in their thoughts that the puppy had not been bothered by the fact that he was suddenly facing two huge wolves. He continued to stand between them wagging his tail and trying to play with Jake's paw. A paw that was almost bigger than the whole dog.
The vampires stood mostly already in the kitchen when I arrived there with Bella.
The breakfast table was set very invitingly, and by now Carlisle didn't look like he had yet to clean up or even renovate the kitchen.
Well. Esmé had supported him energetically.
I cast a questioning glance at Esmé when I saw the Advent calendar gifts on the plates.
We actually always opened those after the meal, plus there were other little bags on the table. I smiled when Esmé enlightened me in her thoughts and kept my mouth shut.
"You must be about to burst!" noted Emmett with amusement, gently stroking over our Knob.
"Thirty-nine centimeters," I stated, which we had measured a few minutes ago.
I've been smiling constantly since then, by the way, even though I was actually more worried about how the delivery was really going to go.
Thirty-nine centimeters. So only a single centimeter of additional abdominal girth was missing, and Bella would reach that in the course of the day. However, this was not a sophisticated science, but a rough average value. Nevertheless. Bottom line, it wouldn't be long now.
Carlisle nodded with satisfaction and mentally checked for himself the treatment room again.
Whether we were really prepared for everything at all times. But we were, as he confirmed to himself once again.
Jake came downstairs.
Still in a good mood, even though Becky wasn't here. He was apparently consoling himself with the little puppy today. Apparently this one now belonged to the pack and followed his alpha.
Charlie and Sue were not long in arriving and their mouths were already watering as they arrived in front of the generously set table and took their seats.
They pondered what they should eat first. The cinnamon buns, the pancake rolls, or maybe a bun first?
Then the stragglers started to arrive.
Marcus carried Leah on his back to the kitchen and they were visibly in good spirits.
Esmé, by the way, had a new dining table and a considerable number of chairs. So all twenty people, which in principle were possible over the holidays, would get a seat.
My family, the Mitchell family, Carlisle's family, and Charlie and Sue.
Esmé first requested that we unpack the small sachet that everyone had in front of them. Esmé had also provided ones for Charlie and Sue.
They all contained the same thing, only with small variations. Santa hats. Emmett's, for example, had wool braids hanging from it, while Alice's was on a hairband. Mine had a little bell, Bella's had little red stars that glowed. Leah's was pink.
"And you leave those on all day!" my mother ordered with a commanding air.
No one dared to object. But we took a picture with everyone together. I transferred the picture, which turned out really nice, to my cell phone and sent it to David and Becky. I knew that David's family's calendar was equally stocked, and Becky was given corresponding little sachets for her family. And they responded with just such pictures.
We had a hearty breakfast, cleaned up, but stayed around the table for a long time in convivial gatherings.
Until I got a SMS from Sonya. They would be there in about ten minutes. So we had to hide the little stray.
Marcus had repressed so nicely that he had promised his mother he would be with her for Christmas, and unfortunately remembered it again as a result.
"Please take the Audi, Marcus. It's supposed to start snowing heavily today and the tires on your bus should really have been replaced long ago," I said in the entrance area and handed him the key.
He did not contradict me.
He knew I was right about his tires and the Audi wasn't needed for the time being.
I also gave him a small bag to take with him.
"But don't open it before the gift-giving," I commanded him.
It was just a few little things for his mother and sisters. He would certainly be a little surprised that there was nothing in the bag for him. He would get his Christmas present from us only when he was back here.
To say goodbye to Leah in private, I left the two of them alone again.
Shortly thereafter, the Mitchell family arrived in good spirits.
All of them wore, as prescribed - ! - the Santa Claus caps. Emma's was also pink.
David, however, immediately drove again to pick up Daniel.
We left their bags at the entrance for now, there was time for that later.
The first thing that wanted to be admired was the Christmas tree.
On the first floor, the ceilings were almost thirteen feet high. Just as big, of course, was the tree that we had all decorated together on Sunday.
Well. I had missed the children doing that.
And David's children now stood before it with unbelieving eyes.
The day went nice and cozy. We played with the children, sat together with cocoa, coffee, cookies, and cake, and went for a walk through the freezing cold to look at the Christmas decorations of my siblings' houses. In the process, the announced snow began to trickle.
On time for Christmas.
I don't need to mention that I hardly let Bella out of my sight once today. So after the walk I noticed that my angel seemed exhausted.
"You're pale, Bells!" David also noted.
She looked up at me, smiled placatingly, but nodded and headed up the stairs.
My little martyr was insightful? Something was wrong.
"And you might want to get some rest too!" David immediately ordered his own wife.
He already took one of the bags with him and came after us. He didn't know this house that well, but he knew that there was only one guest room on the first floor, and that was where Charlie and Sue were staying.
"Esmé has put you up on the third floor. There are two rooms right next to each other. At the stairs on the left and then the first two doors," I explained while holding Bella by the waist a bit and not leaving her unobserved for a second.
With each stair, she slowed down, her heart quickened, and her breathing became heavier. When I had the feeling that she would not manage another stair without collapsing from lack of strength, I took her up in my arms. Gently, I laid her down on our temporary bed. Bella almost fell asleep in my arms during this short stretch. She had not been this weak during the whole of the last few weeks.
On the way, I had already called quietly for Carlisle. He was next door.
He had not participated in our walk - under the pretext of having received a call from the hospital. In truth, Esmé had caused his cell phone to ring so he could take over guarding the little Golden Retriever.
"Bella, my heart. How are you?" I asked anxiously, with my hands on her pale cheeks.
"Just weak. Otherwise good," Bella murmured, as Carlisle was already standing in the room with a blood bag.
The puppy came clumsily right after.
I set the needle myself.
Bella was so 'out of it' that she didn't need any distraction from the puncture. She merely forced herself to keep her eyes open.
"Just sleep, dearest," I said, kissing her on the lips.
Her eyes immediately fell shut.
"Why is she so weak?" I asked quietly, so as not to disturb my angel, but in a way helplessly. "It's only half past three in the afternoon and I've had to carry her halfway up the stairs," I added, still slightly desperate.
"We're nearing the end," Carlisle said quietly, pulling a tape measure from his pocket.
The way he said it, his words gave me a bitter blow.
The end! It brought to my mind what I was still afraid of. The end of the pregnancy. Perhaps the end of her humanity. But if everything went wrong, possibly the end of her existence. A situation in which I was not yet clear about what I would draw from it for a consequence. Because one thing was undoubtedly and indisputably certain: Without Bella I could not exist!
Carefully we pulled the tape measure under Bella's back.
40.8 centimeters ... minus a few millimeters for the clothes.
"It can really be ready any hour now. Her body is exhausted and does not want to carry this load any longer than necessary. Your baby might want to strengthen itself for the final spurt and drink more now than before. Also the child is required to perform at its best during birth, not only the mother ... Don't worry too much, Edward. Bella is already a mother and knows very well what she is facing. She has given life to twins. In contrast, this could be a walk. Bella knows that she's almost there. She will listen very carefully to her body and won't hide anything from us," he tried to reassure me.
He pulled out the tape measure again and the little puppy literally pounced on the end that was hanging to the floor.
I could actually bring myself to smile about that.
"I finally have an answer for you, by the way!" smirked Carlisle as he lifted the tape up and down a few times to indulge the dog in a game.
I raised my eyes to him questioningly.
I heard his thoughts. The answer to the question of why Bella could even have a child by ME.
"As you are aware, I have been looking for an answer to this for over three weeks. Now I have found it. Thanks to our little guest here," he said, lifting the puppy onto his hand and cuddling it on the ears.
The dog was obviously very fond of it.
"When you went off earlier, I started another attempt," he began, and I screwed up my face.
I didn't want to watch/listen in his head now in any case how he had jerked off. Fortunately, he passed over this side information by himself.
"However, the little one here was about to relieve himself. So I interrupted my work and took him outside as quickly as possible. We stayed outside for some time until he had done all his business. When I came back, the answer was in the petri dish ... Thawed!" he explained.
"Thawed?" I repeated in surprise.
"Thawed!" he nodded affirmatively. "It seems to be simply too cold in our bodies for our sperm to make a viable impression. Room temperature was already enough earlier for them to move around at least enough that pregnancy would not have to be completely ruled out. But in the warmth of Bella's human body - a comfortable ninety-eight degrees - that's when they really become active."
I smiled and stroked over my baby.
Bella's cheeks regained some color.
So our miracle wasn't such a big miracle after all.
"Then there could possibly be other half-beings?"
"As I have said many times before. Humans have been in this world as long as vampires. I doubt that you are the first of our kind to find your soul mate in a human. We also do not have to talk about the fact that there are also creatures among our kind who help themselves to people less 'lovingly' and only satisfy their inclinations and cravings on them. In this respect, I can imagine it very well, even if we have not been able to find out anything conclusive about it so far. There are a few legends - mainly from South America - but how much truth there is behind them is difficult to discern."
Carlisle went back down to the others, and I paid attention to my baby who was continually moving.
More than usual and it also seemed more coordinated.
I played with him. I had pushed up Bella's shirt and pulled down the elastic waistband of her pants and ran my fingertips over the skin.
My baby mirrored my patterns from the inside. But I sighed in disappointment.
I did not hear a single little thought.
"Are you conversing?" my angel suddenly asked softly, smiling.
"A little," I smirked. "Are you feeling better?"
"Yes," Bella said, taking a deep breath and trying to position herself a little more upright.
I shoved a pillow in her back.
The blood had not yet completely run through.
"He likes to play with you," Bella smiled.
"And could he maybe tell me himself?" I asked ... miffed.
"Soon," she soothed me.
I asked if she wanted anything.
"A kiss!" she ordered and therefore I let myself not ask twice.
When I touched the warm sweet lips of my angel, something barked out.
Bella chuckled and I looked down at the puppy.
There he sat. Wagged his tail, pushed his ears up a bit and looked at me askance. There you could not even be angry!
I lifted him onto the bed and Bella immediately began to crawl over his belly, whereby he snuggled up to Bella's side. The second attempt at the required kiss then succeeded.
But my angel wanted something else.
Ice cream. Who could have expected that?
But since I didn't want to leave Bella alone, even if only for a few short minutes, I asked for it in our little family chat and the twins brought it to their insatiable mother.
"Wow ...!" escaped from Jake.
"That's got to hurt!" came from Leah.
We smirked.
The children had not seen the exposed belly for several days.
Bella reached out her hands for the ice cream and only said that she looked much worse with the twins. They shouldn't make such a fuss now and hand over the ice cream!
They laughed and sat down on the bed. Very carefully they stroked over their sibling and were downright fascinated by their mother's belly.
And the baby also played with them.
"How much longer? What's the current estimate?" asked Leah with a worried undertone.
Since I talked openly with the kids about everything, they knew my fears regarding the birth. So Leah had my own concerns in mind with her question. But we had no answer. Determining the exact date was already a matter of luck with a normal baby.
The blood was done, the ice cream was empty, and Bella was feeling as right as rain again, according to her own statement. So we wanted to go back down to the others.
"Ahh ...!" uttered Bella as I just helped her up and she sacked back onto the bed. Choked and agonizing.
An ice-cold shiver chased fearfully through my body.
"Bella!"
"Mom!"
Bella breathed compressed, as if she was breathing through pain, and had her hands resting on a certain spot on her belly.
Asking about the cause was useless for the moment. She would not answer in this cramped posture.
I gently laid her back on her back and pushed her shirt aside again.
A violent hematoma formed where she had laid her hands.
"We need to get it out before it does worse to you!" I determined, already cooling the area with my hands.
"No!" gasped Bella, breathing frantically.
"Bella," I wanted to convince her as Carlisle was already standing in the room.
Quickly I enlightened him.
"Not yet!" Bella again pressed out of her mouth.
"How are you feeling, Bella?" he inquired.
"I'll be fine again," she whispered, but I could tell how much strength that confident face was taking out of her.
Carlisle gently palpated the abdomen and went a little lower. Then he shook his head in my direction.
"It's not time yet!" he declared right after, as I was already about to misinterpret his head shake.
Frighteningly wrong!
Bella remained lying there for a few more minutes and she actually seemed to relax.
Carlisle left again.
He was completely calm. Unlike me!
"Edward. Don't overreact so soon," she reprimanded me now.
I thought I didn't hear right!?
"I know what labor feels like, but the baby isn't ready yet. It probably just turned a little too hard," she wanted to explain to me.
"Bella! You mustn't play anything down! It's life-threatening if you want to play the strong one for us!" I thundered indignantly now. And what did she do?
Bella smirked, sat on the edge with the help of the twins and took my face in her hands.
"I think it's really cute how you're worried about me, but I'm not made of sugar! And I'm already a Mom! Trust me when I say it's not time yet. That was just an awkward kick from your kid against my belly. I've been through worse with Jake and Leah," she said softly, giving me a kiss on the lips.
I probably looked a little indecisive, which is why Bella kept talking. But the way she moved without any painful twitching, breathed calmly, and also laughed, reassured me immensely.
"I told you about the last few weeks with the twins were intense. That I wasn't allowed to fly anymore, so I had to stay in Atlanta," she said.
I nodded.
Yes, she had mentioned something like that once, although I didn't want to imagine what exactly she might have meant by that.
"The two of them played soccer in my belly and broke several of my ribs," she smiled at me placatingly.
My angry look, on the other hand, went to these aforementioned children. I rose, growled threateningly and the twins immediately backed away.
"Hey, Dad! Don't do anything you'll be sorry for!" Jake walked backwards in front of me.
"We didn't even know we were alive yet!" declared Leah with her hands raised defensively.
"We didn't even know Mom either!"
"Not even ourselves yet!"
"Edward, let the children live!" my angel laughed, and received the delicate approach of a bark in support.
I immediately smiled and the wolves breathed a sigh of relief.
I knew this could happen with normal pregnancies, but the faces of my children had been grandiose.
"You're really okay?" I asked again though.
Bella nodded, and so now we actually went back downstairs, having changed in keeping with the festive occasion.
Bella looked adorable. Over her light gray maternity pants she wore a dark blue lace-trimmed blouse that fell airily over her belly, but tied above it with a pink bow. And, of course, the Santa hat.
In the meantime it was shortly before five o'clock in the afternoon and Esmé was already busy in the kitchen with the meal. Energetically supported by Sue and Leah. Sonya at least sat there - she was forbidden any stroke of work - as well as Alice and Rose - for whom there was simply nothing to do.
Bella accordingly sat down with the ladies in the kitchen.
Alice took her leave shortly after to get dolled up for the evening. In reality, she took the puppy from upstairs with her. One by one, everyone retired briefly to change clothes. Everyone thought of the Santa hats.
"You're pretty nervous, Edward, can it be?" Charlie addressed me.
"Of course I am. Maybe I worry too much, but I can't help it. I will always worry about Bella. Even if one day she will be like me," I specified. I was sure that if Bella hunted her first animal as a vampire, I would go through mortal fears.
He told me that at the time Bella was born, he had been a bundle of nerves. He had even almost forgotten to take Renée with him when he drove to the hospital.
Somehow his words reassured me.
During the feast we locked the puppy in one of the bathrooms – of course with some food, water, and a toy.
The evening continued to be comfortable, and Bella looked relaxed.
Now and then she winced, but it was no more violent than usual, although more often.
Carlisle had once studied music in Europe and mastered several instruments. So he accompanied me with the violin, and we played all kinds of Christmas carols, which were sung along loudly and atmospherically. There was slow dancing to some other pieces.
Sonya and David, of course. Jake danced with Bella. Both equally awkward in terms of both step sequence and belly. Leah with her grandfather. Sue with Emmett. Jasper with Emma. Rose with Daniel ...
Emma was getting increasingly jittery, but we didn't let her go to bed yet like she wanted to.
She was not tired. She would like to sleep very quickly so that the morning of the gift-giving would be here sooner, but she would just toss and turn in bed.
So we played quite a bit with the children until the first signs of fatigue became apparent.
Esmé fetched a rather old fairytale book from our library and Carlisle - as our family elder - read from it.
Emma missed the end. Even her two brothers were tired enough to go to bed.
Daniel, on the other hand, stayed up a little longer, but then also voluntarily disappeared between the blankets when Sonya withdrew. The boys shared a room, while Emma would spend the night between her parents.
"Good night!" rose soon Leah and Jake as well.
They would also share a bed tonight. Alone, they found it too lonely in the rather spacious beds.
"And Merry Christmas," they gave Bella and me another kiss on the cheek.
"Well. If the kids back off, I'd say we're hitting the sack soon, too," Charlie announced, and Sue - stifling a yawn - nodded at him in agreement.
He knew that David's little children would certainly get up very early if it was Christmas morning. He did not want to miss this spectacle. He liked the children he had always heard so much about over the years. They did remind him that he wasn't forty anymore, because he couldn't quite keep up with the bright kids, but that didn't bother him. They treated him so impartially friendly that he felt a little like a proud grandfather. This inevitably led to the fact that he was already very much looking forward to his newest grandchild.
So in the end I sat alone in the living room with Bella and David.
David wanted to get to know his newest family member a bit, and Bella wanted another blood transfusion tonight. In tomorrow's gift-giving rush - due to the large number of people - she might not get around to it.
So I got a blood bag with accessories and freed the dog from the bathroom.
"What the ...!" I started to curse, but it was impossible to be angry at that hangdog look.
I really tried, but it did not work. The existing toy was apparently not interesting enough. For this the rolls of toilet paper, which was spread all over the floor. And in the middle lay the little scamp. Tail wagging. Looking up at me. With an innocence in the look, which was looking for his equal.
I pulled out my phone for a mug shot before quickly cleaning everything up.
"Have you thought of a name for this little miscreant?" I asked David as I showed him the picture.
He laughed - like Bella.
"No, not yet. And I'm afraid that if Emma comes up with a name, he'll probably be called Olaf," David reflected.
I agreed with that unreservedly. Olaf was the name of the snowman in the movie 'Frozen'.
"Are you a little Olaf?" Bella asked the animal.
Enthusiasm undoubtedly looked different.
While I was putting the transfusion in Bella, David went into the kitchen. He came back with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies.
"You need to play Santa Claus a little more," he prompted Bella.
Of course. Emma had reminded us several times this evening that we shouldn't forget to put out milk and cookies for Santa. Otherwise, the little angel would have a tantrum. So Bella drank the milk dutifully and nibbled on the cookies. Not all of them. If Santa ate them all, he wouldn't fit down the chimney.
I put the plate back on the low table.
With sufficient remains.
We chatted.
How beautiful the evening was. How pretty the Christmas tree looked. How well Esmé seemed to know how to cook. How nice she was to think of David's brand of whiskey he just indulged in.
"The plate is empty," David remarked in the meantime.
We looked over there.
True.
I looked under the table.
There lay a gleefully chewing puppy.
"How about the name Cookie?" Bella said dryly.
That was fitting. He had already stolen a cookie yesterday. And this morning also one.
The dog wagged its tail enthusiastically.
I put away the transfusion paraphernalia and controlled the fire in the fireplace so it could burn out unattended.
David meanwhile tried to get Bella up from the sofa. He reached his limits, since he was a little tipsy by now.
However, he was not really drunk. Otherwise, I would not have let him try this.
Cookie was also very helpful. He jumped against David's legs again and again when he had pulled Bella up a bit.
After the fourth attempt, Bella was standing, and they lay laughing in each other's arms.
Bella looked so adorable, but her laughter quickly died away. She sought my gaze and she seemed very attentive.
"Edward," she extended a hand to me and balanced past David.
I walked up to her and took her hand, but she pushed her fingers right on to my cheeks. She directed and held my gaze into her shining eyes.
Tears gathered and wetted her chocolate-colored almond eyes.
She smiled.
"Now you can start worrying," she said.
But what should I worry about. My angel looked very content and happy at that very moment.
"It's time," she followed up meaningfully, since I obviously didn't know what she was trying to tell me.
She gently kissed my lips.
Thanks for reading!