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Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to Stephanie Meyer.
Chapter Twenty-Six-Too Much to Take
Seven Months Later:
Jacob put his tools away and assessed his latest project. He had received a commission from a small, exclusive furniture store in Seattle for some specialist one off pieces of his furniture. It had been a hectic six months since he finally got his business up and running.
Jared - who was a whiz on the computer - had set up a website for him, showcasing some of his best pieces. The buyer could browse over his work and there was a page where they could request bespoke pieces of furniture of their choice. The work had been coming in slowly and steadily. As the website got more hits, other suppliers had been in contact with him. Impressed by the quality of his work they had begun to request that he make more of his furniture in bulk. The Seattle store was his latest client.
It was now five o'clock in the afternoon and Jacob had been working non-stop all day, just taking a break to eat a quick lunch. He was on a tight deadline and had only two more days to finish up his latest workload. He stretched his arms up above his head, trying to ease the cramps in his shoulder muscles. His stomach rumbled and he headed off back to the house in search of some food. As he went inside, he found his dad playing with Ethan. His son was now a lively one year old. He had started walking a month earlier and was keeping everyone on their toes.
"Where's Bells?" Jacob asked Billy.
"I told her to go and lie down." Billy told him. "She doesn't look well at all, Jake. I swear she's lost more weight."
Jacob frowned. "I've been telling her to rest, but she can be so damn stubborn."
"I spoke to Charlie earlier. I thought it would be worth finding out how she was when she carried Ethan, as she refuses to tell us." Billy kept an eye on Ethan who was gradually edging away from his chair and heading toward the kitchen. Billy expertly wheeled his chair forward and picked Ethan up by the back of his shirt and placed him on his lap.
"What did he say?"
"Well, he checked in with Renee, it seems Bella was exactly the same when she carried this little scamp here." Billy patted Ethan on the head, making him giggle. "She was fine until the sixth month, then she started having phantom pains and blood spotting. She lost weight then, too. Renee seems to think Sarah could come early just like Ethan did. But when I mentioned this to Bella, she refused to accept that it could happen again."
Jacob growled in frustration. As much as he loved Bella, she could still be so stubborn about the stupidest things. She had been trying to carry on as normal. She had found a part time job on the reservation, taking over the running of the small school library now that the librarian was near retirement. Even this had taken its toll on her. She would come home exhausted. She was skin and bone, only her protruding belly giving it away she was pregnant at all. Jacob had tried to persuade her to give up the job but she had yelled at him to stop fussing and retreated to their room, slamming the door. Bella had become very emotional, her moods veering from happy to melancholy at the drop of a hat.
Renee had been in a rehab facility for the last six months. She was due to leave any day now. Charlie and Bella had been in constant communication with her, pleased that she was making slow but steady progress. She had been weaned off the drugs but now had to learn to live without then as her emotional crutch. Her daily talks with Bella showed how much she was improving. Bella would come off the phone much relieved by Renee's much calmer attitude to life.
There had been no sight or sound of the Cullen family during the last seven months since Edward's death. Jacob still made sure that the boundary was patrolled regularly, but had relaxed the stringent rule that two wolves had to be on guard at the same time. He wanted everyone to get back to some sort of normality. He could only assume that the clan were still very much unaware of Edward's fate and that maybe they would never make the connection that either he or Bella had been involved.
"I'm going to check on Bells. Will you be alright with Ethan for a bit longer?" Jacob asked his dad.
"I'll be fine. Leah has offered to have him overnight to give you both a rest anyway. She'll be over in an hour to collect him." Billy advised.
Jacob smiled at this piece of news. Leah had become very attached to Ethan. She had been an invaluable help with him, babysitting him at any given opportunity. Ethan loved his Auntie Lee Lee. Her relationship with Sam had been slow to rebuild. Leah recognised that she had a lot of trust issues to sort through and had warned Sam that they were not going to get back together overnight. He had broken her heart and she needed to see him make the effort to woo her before she handed her heart to him again. Sam had been infinitely patient and hadn't pushed her to make a full-time commitment at all. They dated just like they had at the beginning of their relationship and were making steady progress to a more permanent union.
This all ran through Jacob's mind as he entered his bedroom. Bella was lying on her back, staring sightlessly at the ceiling. She obviously hadn't been able to find sleep. Jacob sat beside her and took her hand. "Hey, you're supposed to be sleeping." He chided her gently.
Bella turned her tired eyes onto him and sighed. "I just can't." She said in a small voice.
"Bells, I think you should get checked out by a doctor." Jacob suggested carefully.
Bella shook her head fiercely. "No. I'm fine."
"You're not fine. Everyone can see that." Jacob was getting impatient. "Stop being so stubborn."
"This is my body." Bella retorted. "I know whether I need to see a doctor or not."
"Do you?" Jacob said sternly. "Or is this you panicking again that someone will find out about Renee's drug problem now that she is in rehab and start asking you questions?"
Bella's cheeks flushed red with anger. Jacob knew that he had guessed correctly. Bella was scared that the doctors would think that she would go down the same path as her mother and would somehow snatch her baby away from her. "You have to let this irrational fear go, honey." He said in a gentler tone.
"I won't lose my babies, Jake." Bella snapped. "I won't risk it."
"There's no possibility of that happening. I wouldn't allow it for a start. Things are different now, Bells. You have a whole support network around you. You are not alone this time." Jacob reminded her firmly.
"I know." Bella whispered. "I am just so worn out, Jake."
"Then please get checked out by the doctor, Bells." He begged her.
"Sue will do." Bella protested.
"Sue is a nurse, Bells. She can only do so much. You know this." Jacob stared into her fear filled eyes. "Please let me take you to a doctor."
Bella put a hand over her rounded belly and sighed sadly. "Okay, if you think I should."
"Yes, I do." Jacob stated adamantly. "Come on we'll go now."
"What about Ethan?" Bella questioned him, trying to delay things again.
"Lee will be over soon to pick him up. She's going to have him overnight so don't worry. My dad will be fine with him until she gets here. Now stop fretting and let's go." Jacob stood up and held out his hand.
"You can be so damn bossy, Jacob Black." Bella gave him a rueful smile as she took his outstretched hand and slid off the bed.
The doctor gave Bella a thorough examination. He was an older man, nearing his sixties. His glasses were perched on the end of his nose as he gently explained everything he was doing to Bella, putting her at ease immediately. Jacob was glad to see that she looked relaxed. He held her hand as she let the doctor do his work.
"Right, I just need to pass these notes to the nurse at the reception desk, my dear." The doctor patted Bella's hand as he stood. "Why don't you come with me, Jacob? Make sure my old brain has written your pretty lady's personal details down correctly."
"Okay. I'll be back in a minute, Bells." Jacob kissed her forehead and followed the doctor outside of the examination room.
As soon as the door shut behind them the doctor's expression changed to one of concern. "Who has been monitoring, Bella?" He asked sternly.
Jacob frowned at the doctor's tone. "She's been under the care of a family friend of ours. She's a nurse."
"Bella hasn't been checked out by a proper health care professional?" The doctor said in alarm. "Do you have any idea how ill that girl is?"
Jacob felt his heart constrict in his chest. He knew he should have pushed Bella harder to go and see a proper doctor, but Bella had refused point blank. It was only now that she was in a weakened state that she had agreed to be seen by someone other the Sue. "Is she going to be okay?" He begged the doctor.
"Her blood pressure is extremely low. She is obviously anaemic and looks on the verge of collapse. You say that your first child was born early?" The doctor questioned him.
"Yes, seven months."
"I think Bella will most certainly have another early delivery. She has admitted she has been having pains and the head is engaged. I want to admit her right now. I want her monitored carefully, otherwise her condition could deteriorate before we have a chance to deliver the baby safely."
Jacob felt sick inside. He had been a fool to listen to Bella and let her override his worries. He should have insisted on her seeing someone months ago. She could be so stubborn. "Okay, I'll tell her."
"Right." The doctor gave Jacob some paperwork to sign before heading off to the reception to book Bella into the hospital.
"No, Jake. I want to go home." Bella insisted as soon as he told her the news.
"Bells, did you not hear what I said?" Jacob pleaded with her.
"I'm fine. I've just been overdoing things, that's all. I want our daughter to be born at home, not in some sterile hospital." Bella struggled to rise, but Jacob gently pushed her back down again.
"The doctor thinks that Sarah could be born early like Ethan." He warned her. "This is the best place for you to be."
"We can't afford it, Jake." Bella argued with him, as tears began to roll down her cheeks.
Her words brought him up short. "Is that why? Because you're worried about money?"
"We're on the breadline, Jake. I've seen the books." Bella confessed.
Jacob glared at her. "I told you I have everything under control. Every business loses money in the first year as it tries to establish itself. Stop worrying."
"And you stop hiding things from me. I saw how much we owe and it's scary, Jake. If we fall behind much more, my dad could lose his house." She said anxiously.
"Enough, Bella. Let me worry about the finances. The most important thing is your health and Sarah's." Jacob held her face in his hands and looked at her pleadingly.
Bella closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. You're right. I'm just so scared, Jake."
"I know, honey. I know." Jacob kissed her gently on the lips before resting his forehead on hers.
"Is she really that bad?" Leah asked as she held a wriggling Ethan firmly in her arms. Now that he had found his feet, he was always determined to be on the move and hated being held.
"Yeah." Jacob finished packing the last of Bella's things, ready to go back to the hospital. "The doctor thinks Sarah will be born early."
"Ethan can stay with me for the time being, Jake." Leah offered. "It'll free you up to spend as much time with Bella as you want to. Sam says not to worry about the pack, he'll look after things there."
Jacob looked at her gratefully. "Thanks." He choked out.
Leah put a comforting hand on his arm. "She'll be fine, Jake. She got through it before, but this time she has you and all of us for support."
"I know." Jacob leaned over and gave Ethan a kiss on the forehead. "Be good for Auntie Lee."
Ethan beamed at him, showing all his teeth as he held out his arms for his daddy. Jacob took hold of him and hugged him tight for a moment before handing him back to Leah.
"Tell Bella I'll bring him in to see her tomorrow morning. We'll stay with her for a while until you can get down there. I know you have that big commission to finish."
"Thanks." Jacob said again. He hefted the bag of Bella's things onto his shoulder and bid Leah and Ethan goodbye. Leah watched him go sadly. She could see how petrified he was, even though he was trying to hide it. She hugged Ethan to her chest and prayed silently in her head for Bella and little Sarah to be okay.
A/N-thanks for reading.
