A Floating Life
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Loss of Control
"Why did you do that, Edward?" Bella demanded as she did her best to soothe Charlotte. The little girl's face was awash with tears, she kept gulping, little saliva bubbles forming at the sides of her mouth in distress.
"I just wanted to hold her, love." Edward defended himself. "She's my daughter and I – "
"You know she struggles being around you – your smell, your icy touch – it unnerves her." Bella interjected angrily.
As soon as she mentioned his smell, she got a whiff of the pungent perfumed fragrance coming off his hard skin, and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She didn't think she would ever get used to it – and to think once she found his scent so intoxicating.
"Apologize to Seth right now." Bella insisted, while she concentrated on dabbing at the tears on Charlotte's face.
"I already have several times… but I'll do it again… if that's what you want. Seth, I am very sorry. I severely regret my lapse of control." Edward said reluctantly, flashing the injured young shifter a guilty look. He genuinely liked Seth, finding him open and amenable, and less judgmental than the rest of the wolves.
"Don't worry about it, Edward, I'll be fully healed soon." Seth tried to make light of it as he held a hand over his injured ribs. He was laid out on the Cullens plush white sofa, being fussed over by Esme and Alice, which he was enjoying immensely.
Jacob had been holding Charlotte when Edward had gotten it into his thick head to try and take his daughter. Bella knew there was an element of envy involved. Edward couldn't bear the fact that the little girl preferred to be around his love rival than him. It was like he felt he had something to prove, that he could make poor Charlotte accept him as her father by forcefully grabbing the little girl and laying claim to her.
Almost immediately, as his icy fingers bit into Charlotte's skin when he tried to wrestle her from Jacob's hold, the distraught little girl had let out an agonized wail, as if her father's touch burned.
Bella had shot forward, taking her daughter away from Jacob as he went to confront Edward. This action caused Edward to completely lose control of his temper. He attacked Jacob without thought or consequence, lunging for his throat.
With Charlotte nearby, Jacob didn't want to take the risk of shifting into his wolf form to protect himself. Seth, the only other person in the room with them at the time, quickly jumped in between them, which had resulted in two broken ribs, a fractured shoulder, and collarbone.
Seth's howls of pain had prompted the rest of the pack to reappear from where they had been resting outside the house. Straight away Leah had gone into big sister protective mode. Her form began to shimmer, her lovely face twisted into a feral snarl as she dove toward Edward in defense of her brother.
It was chaos after that – Jacob, worried for Bella and Charlotte's safety in the ensuing melee – grabbed them and whisked them out of the house. It was left to Sam to control the rest of the pack. With a weary sigh, he ordered Leah to stand down.
Angry at being stopped mid-phase, the she-wolf berated her former lover, hovering over Seth, while shooting murderous glances in Edward's direction.
The other Cullens had appeared by this point. Jasper dicreetly used his powers to bring order out of the chaos. Carlisle, acting as peacemaker, had apologized for Edward's loss of control - citing that his son had been under immense strain since Charlotte's difficult birth, and was finding the ensuing transition difficult as he settled into his new role as a father, pointing out Edward's frustration at the fact that he had been forced to take a step back because of the unforeseen obstacles that prevented him from truly bonding with the little girl.
"That doesn't excuse his behavior." Sam had said sternly. "If he loses control that easily when he doesn't get his own way, maybe he doesn't deserve to be around her at all. She could have been seriously hurt."
Carlisle had prompted Edward, with a sharp nudge to the ribs with his elbow, to apologize to all the assembled wolves, as well as to Jacob and Bella, who had returned now that all the mayhem had died down.
This Edward had done with great reluctance, his tone and expression surly when it came to including Jacob in the apology.
Afterwards, while Bella continued to castigate Edward, Carlise secured another piece of brace to Seth's arm, making Seth wince.
Esme looked at him tenderly, gently smoothing his hair back from his face in a soothing fashion. "My poor brave boy." She murmured sympathetically. "What can I make you? More burritos? Or would you prefer something sweet rather than savory?"
Jacob had rolled his eyes to heaven as Seth graciously thanked Esme, asking for some of the delicious apple pie she had made earlier.
"Of course." Esme patted Seth on the head as if he was a toddler, then floated gracefully out of the room.
When she was gone, Jacob finally spoke to Seth, immediately bursting his bubble.
"You were an idiot to get in-between us like that, Seth. I could have handled it myself. We've got your sister spitting blood outside and Blondie isn't much better." He added, referring to Rosalie, who had been dragged out of the room by both Emmet and Jasper as she made a lunge for the she-wolf when she tried to defend Seth.
Jacob had no sympathy for Seth at all. In his mind the reckless young shifter had just made things worse by intervening. There was a tense standoff between the wolves and the Cullen's again now that one of their own had been injured. Leah and Paul had been especially vocal about their mistrust of the family, demanding that Edward's reluctant apology wasn't enough to make up for what he had done.
"No one is safe while that leech is in the house, especially not Charlotte." Leah yelled from outside in the grounds. The wolves were all gathered by the lake. "It's time to take her and leave."
Sam had warned her to simmer down. "That's not our call, Leah. That's Bella's."
"It was my brother that paid the price." Leah argued hotly. "He's inside – badly injured. Why are you keeping me out here? I should be in there with him."
"Because you need to regain control over yourself. You're no good to anyone kicking off like this." Sam countered, trying to keep his tone as calm and even as possible. "And Seth will be fine in a couple of hours, you know that."
"But what about Charlotte?" Leah insisted.
"Charlotte is being well cared for by Bella. I heard her tear a strip off Edward Cullen for what he's done. She isn't condoning his actions. I doubt she will tolerate his behavior for much longer, you can see she is losing patience."
Leah scowled, still feeling riled and upset, she paced back and forth restlessly, occasionally shooting dark glances toward the house.
Inside, Seth was still trying to appease Jacob. "Don't freak out, Jake. It's no big deal. I'm fine." He remained the eternal cock-eyed optimist, still refusing to acknowledge the simmering tension between Jacob and Edward, wanting them all to be friends.
Jacob snorted derisively in response, shaking his head in disbelief at Seth's naivety.
Bella came and sat down beside Seth while Carlisle treated him. Charlotte had calmed down now and was back to her normal smiling self. Her dimples appeared as she clapped her hands together in delight as Seth pulled a funny face at her.
"She's too cute." He said, grinning. He reached out and patted Bella on the knee. "Don't worry about me, Bella. I'll be back to normal in half an hour." He glanced up at Jacob apologetically. "I know you're mad, but I would do the same again, what with Bella and Charlotte – "He broke off mid-word when he saw Jacob frown in annoyance and changed the subject quickly. "I mean at least I didn't get bitten, huh? That would have sucked."
Bella grimaced, clutching Charlotte closer as she shuddered at the very real possibility of Edward accidentally biting Seth in his blind, jealous rage to wrest Charlotte away from Jacob. It could have happened so easily. And werewolves didn't react to vampire venom the same way humans did. It was poison to them. Which meant it was poison to Charlotte as well, seeing as she had shifter blood running through her veins. The consequences of Edward's lapse of control could have been horrific.
Jacob seemed to understand what was going through her mind. He put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently.
Edward flinched, clearly his thoughts going in the same direction as Bella's as well. "I'm a bad person." He said hoarsely.
"Yes, you are." Bella agreed, raising her head, and meeting his stricken gaze. "Because of your pathetic jealousy, Charlotte could have been hurt. It was lucky that Jacob had full control of himself to pass her to me when you so clearly didn't!"
"I'm sorry, Bella. I really am. You must forgive me. As Carlisle said, it was a lapse in judgment brought on by frustration." Edward held up his hands defensively when Bella shot him a furious glare. "I know that is no excuse – I think any man would have done the same in my situation – even the mongrel if the situation were reversed."
"Don't you dare compare me to you!" Jacob seethed, his eyes narrowing.
Resting Charlotte on her lap, Bella reached up and patted Jacob's hand soothingly.
"Let's not argue." Seth said quickly, as the rising tension between Edward and Jacob began to escalate again. "We're all cool. Right, guys?"
"I agree, Seth." Carlisle added his pleas to the young shifter's. He straightened up, giving Edward a warning look. "I think that's as much as I can do. Try not to move, oh, for a few hours." He said directly to Seth. "I wish treating humans was this instantaneously gratifying." He rested his hand for a moment on Seth's black hair." He then addressed Edward. "Why don't you come upstairs with me for a while, Edward." It wasn't a question. "I think we could all use the space to reflect on things."
Edward nodded sharply. "I really am sorry, Seth." He apologized again sincerely. He then regarded Bella sadly. "I know you will find it in your heart to forgive me, love." He spared a glance at Charlotte, who stuck her tongue out at him and blew a raspberry.
Jacob's lips twitched as he tried to hold back his laughter.
Unnerved, Edward abruptly turned on his heel and flew up the stairs after Carlisle, who had already disappeared. They all heard the door to Carlisle's office slam close, which made them all erupt into laughter, even Charlotte, who placed her chubby little hands over mouth and giggled the loudest of all.
After hoovering up the apple pie that Esme brought him, Seth leaned his head back against the sofa's back and closed his eyes. Seconds later, his mouth fell slack and he began to drool.
Charlotte soon followed him, her cheek resting against Bella's shoulder as she snoozed. Bella gazed tenderly at her daughter's peaceful face. Like Seth, she seemed to have the gift for falling asleep at will. Knowing that Charlotte would be out for the count for a good while, Bella propped her daughter next to Seth, easing the little's girl head so it was resting securely against the young shifter's side. Then she got up and walked over to join Jacob. He smiled and took her hand, leading her over to the back windows.
They looked outside. Leah was pacing along the river, stopping every now and then to look at the house. Sam followed in her wake, his expression resigned as he continued to try and appease her. Leah was barely listening to him, her face alternating between anxious glances and murderous glares.
With her enhanced hearing Bella could hear Emmet and Rosalie on the front steps. Emmet was doing the same as Sam, trying to appease his mate as she expressed her concerns about Charlotte's wellbeing. She didn't trust Edward's ability to control himself, and didn't trust in Bella's ability to keep her safe.
"She would be safer with us, Emmet. We could protect her. Charlotte is a unique and very special little girl. Bella is just human; she will never be able to care for her like we can."
Emmet sighed heavily.
"You know that's just an impossible dream, Rosie. Charlotte needs to be with her mother."
Bella glanced up at Jacob, knowing he had heard everything, too. Their eyes locked, and she knew what he was saying even without him having to speak the words.
Other than Rosalie and Emmet's voices, Seth's slow breathing, and Leah's annoyed panting, it was quiet. Alice, Jasper, and Esme had gone hunting. Bella took advantage of the calm to think.
With the feud between the Cullens and the pack once again hanging on a knife edge because of Edward's lapse in control, and with Rosalie's obvious obsession with keeping Charlotte for herself, Bella knew she was left with little choice.
"I have to go." She said aloud to Jacob. "It's obvious now that Charlotte and I can no longer stay here."
A/N-thanks for reading!